Prospects of effective microorganisms technology in wastes treatment in Egypt

Seroprevalence of Toxoplasma gondii, Neospora caninum and Trichinella spp. in Pigs from Cairo, Egypt

Pork production is a niche economy in Egypt, and pigs are typically raised as backyard animals with no sanitary control, potentially exposing them to various pathogens. Commercially available ELISAs were used to detect specific antibodies to the food-borne zoonotic parasites Toxoplasma gondii and Trichinella spp., as well as to Neospora caninum, in serum samples of pigs slaughtered at Egypt's only licensed pig abattoir, the El-Bassatin abattoir in Cairo. Among the tested sera (n = 332), seroreactivity for T. gondii was 45.8% (95% confidence interval: 40.4-51.3), N. caninum was 28.0% (95% CI: 23.3-33.2), and Trichinella spp. was 1.2% (95% CI: 0.4-3.3). Mixed infection was only detected for T. gondii and N. caninum (18.7%; 95% CI: 14.7-23.4). The seroprevalence of T. gondii was significantly higher (p = 0.0003) in animals collected from southern Cairo (15 May city slum) than in eastern Cairo (Ezbet El Nakhl slum). Seroprevalence for N. caninum was higher in western (Manshiyat Naser slum; p = 0.0003) and southern Cairo (15 May city slum; p = 0.0003) than in that of eastern Cairo (Ezbet El Nakhl slum; p = 0.0003). Moreover, female pigs exhibited a higher rate of N. caninum antibodies than male ones (p < 0.0001). This study provides the first seroprevalence data for N. caninum in pigs in Egypt, and updates the prevalence of the zoonotic parasites Trichinella spp. and T. gondii.

Bioremediation of reverse osmosis concentrate generated from the treatment of landfill leachate

The moisture content of municipal solid waste (MSW) and local precipitation events lead to the leachate generation from MSW landfills. The high concentration of organic pollutants in landfill leachate (LL) makes it hazardous, requiring treatment before disposal into the environment. LL is most commonly treated by reverse osmosis (RO), which generates large volumes of concentrate known as RO concentrate. This investigation aims to stabilize the RO concentrate through an inexpensive and effective bioremediation strategy. A bench-scale aerobic suspended growth reactor study was conducted using three commercial conversion agents, namely EM.1, Bokashi powder, and coir pith powder. Overall bench-scale efficiency of 63% was achieved in this study. The onsite studies were conducted in 7.5-m3 artificial ponds with 46% efficiency amid atmospheric influences and constraints. The overall efficiencies of both bench and field-scale studies were derived by ascertaining the arithmetic mean of the individual efficiency of the following parameters: chemical oxygen demand (COD), biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), and total dissolved solids (TDS). In contrast, the control pond with no conversion agents showed an increase in pollution concentration over the 100 days of retention time. The findings revealed that the investigated technology had a marginally lower evaporation rate and performed relatively well compared to traditional solar evaporation ponds. Moreover, the technology can be easily scaled-up and readily applied for RO concentrate treatment in MSW landfills.

Ocean bacteria: performance on CODCr and NH4(+)-N removal in landfill leachate treatment

An experiment was carried out to investigate the performance of mixed ocean bacteria, isolated from the ocean sediment, on landfill leachate treatment. In this treatment, ocean bacteria were the only constituent added to remove organics and NH(4)(+)-N. Given their considerable influence on wastewater purification, factors such as inoculum, initial pH, processing time and oxygen condition, were directly involved in this research. As indicated by laboratory test results, chemical oxygen demand (CODCr) and NH(4)(+)-N removal could reach 94.45% and 67.87%, respectively, after 3 days of treatment, in conditions of natural pH 6.3 and with the application of oxygen. The volt-ampere characteristics of the bacteria solution verified the redox-active ability of the bacteria in landfill leachate treatment.