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Pelayo D, Hernández-Pellón A, Santos G, Rumayor M, Ortiz I, Rivero MJ. Performance of high-efficiency UV-C LEDs in water disinfection: Experimental, life cycle assessment, and economic analysis of different operational scenarios. JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT 2024; 364:121442. [PMID: 38870793 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2024.121442] [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: 03/12/2024] [Revised: 05/29/2024] [Accepted: 06/07/2024] [Indexed: 06/15/2024]
Abstract
The widespread use of low or medium pressure mercury lamps in UV-C water disinfection should consider recent advances in UV-C LED lamps that offer a more sustainable approach and avoid its main drawbacks. The type of water and the mode of operation are critical when deciding on the treatment technology to be used. Therefore, this study investigates the potential application of UV-C LED disinfection technology in terms of kinetics, environmental assessment, and economic analysis for two scenarios: the continuous disinfection of a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP), and disinfection of harvested rainwater (RWH) in a residential household that operates intermittently. Experiments are conducted using both the new UV-C LED system and the conventional mercury lamp to disinfect real wastewater. Removal of total coliforms and Escherichia coli bacteria, with concentrations of approximately 105 and 104 CFU per 100 mL has been followed to assess the performance of both types of UV-C lamps. The experimental study provides kinetic parameters that have been further used in the environmental assessment conducted from a life cycle perspective. Additionally, considering the significant role of electricity consumption, a preliminary economic analysis has been conducted. The results indicate that first-order kinetic constants of pathogens removal with UV-C LEDs achieve 1.4 times higher values than Hg lamp. Regarding the environmental and economic assessment, for disinfection systems operating continuously, LEDs result in environmental impacts 5 times higher than Hg lamp in most categories, indicating that Hg lamps offer a viable option both from economic and environmental point of view. However, for installations with intermittent operation, LEDs emerge as the most competitive alternative, due to their ability to be turned on and off without affecting their lifespan. This study shows that UV-C LED lamps hold promise to replace conventional mercury lamps in a near future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Deva Pelayo
- Departamento de Ingeniería Química y Biomolecular, Universidad de Cantabria, Avda. Los Castros, s/n, 39005 Santander, Cantabria, Spain
| | - Ana Hernández-Pellón
- APRIA Systems, S.L., Bussines park of Morero, Parcel P-2-12, Industrial Unit 1-Door 5, 39611 Guarnizo, Cantabria, Spain
| | - Germán Santos
- APRIA Systems, S.L., Bussines park of Morero, Parcel P-2-12, Industrial Unit 1-Door 5, 39611 Guarnizo, Cantabria, Spain
| | - Marta Rumayor
- Departamento de Ingeniería Química y Biomolecular, Universidad de Cantabria, Avda. Los Castros, s/n, 39005 Santander, Cantabria, Spain
| | - Inmaculada Ortiz
- Departamento de Ingeniería Química y Biomolecular, Universidad de Cantabria, Avda. Los Castros, s/n, 39005 Santander, Cantabria, Spain
| | - María J Rivero
- Departamento de Ingeniería Química y Biomolecular, Universidad de Cantabria, Avda. Los Castros, s/n, 39005 Santander, Cantabria, Spain.
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Busse MM, Hawes JK, Blatchley ER. Comparative Life Cycle Assessment of Water Disinfection Processes Applicable in Low-Income Settings. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 2022; 56:16336-16346. [PMID: 36215720 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.2c02393] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Access to safe, sufficient water for health and sanitation is a human right, and the reliable disinfection of water plays a critical role in addressing this need. The environmental impact and sustainability of water disinfection methods will also play a role in overall public health. This study presents an investigation of the environmental life cycle impacts of four ultraviolet disinfection systems utilizing ambient solar radiation directly and indirectly for water disinfection in comparison to chlorination and water delivery for application in low-income settings. Product inspection and existing literature were used to define a life cycle functional unit of 1 m3 of water for each system, which allowed quantification of material use, infrastructure requirements, and life cycle of the original components of each system and those needed to keep them operational for the studied lifespans (1, 5, 10, and 20 years) and scales (30, 100, 500, and 1000 L per day). For all studied cases, chlorine had the lowest impact in all impact categories, but end-user acceptance of chlorine in some settings is low, driving interest in low-impact alternatives. Disinfection based on low-pressure mercury lamps had the next lowest normalized impact in most categories and may represent a viable alternative, particularly for long-term (10+ years), high production (500+ liters per day) scenarios.
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Affiliation(s)
- Margaret M Busse
- Lyles School of Civil Engineering, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana 47907, United States
| | - Jason K Hawes
- School for Environment and Sustainability, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, United States
| | - Ernest R Blatchley
- Lyles School of Civil Engineering, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana 47907, United States
- Division of Environmental and Ecological Engineering, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana 47907, United States
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3
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Spreafico C. An analysis of design strategies for circular economy through life cycle assessment. ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING AND ASSESSMENT 2022; 194:180. [PMID: 35157161 PMCID: PMC8844180 DOI: 10.1007/s10661-022-09803-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/13/2021] [Accepted: 01/22/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
The goal of pursuing the circular economy (CE) is spreading more and more in industry, also driven by the introduction of new regulations, considerably affecting product design. However, a quantitative and rigorous evaluation of the environmental impacts of the results obtained by different design strategies used to implementing CE is missing in the literature. Those available only evaluate certain aspects of the life cycle of few products, belonging to specific application fields, in a qualitative way or they refer only to the global warming potential. This study provides a quantitative assessment of the environmental impacts reductions arising from the application of some common design strategies for implementing different CE options (e.g. reuse, waste to energy, remanufacturing), by using some standard indicators. The results were obtained by manually analysing 156 selected case studies of comparative life cycle assessment (LCA), extracted from 136 scientific articles. In them, the environmental impacts of design solutions for CE are compared with those of other solutions were wastes are not exploited. The obtained results have been used to evaluate the different design strategies for CE and to hierarchize them based on environmental sustainability of the solutions associated with them. In addition, an economic evaluation of the strategies, based on the life cycle costing methodology and exploiting the data available in the same articles, was also provided. Among the main achievements, it was found that the hierarchy of the CE options, pursued by the design strategies, to improve environmental sustainability is different from that provided by other studies. In addition, the environmental benefits associated with the different CE options strictly depend by the applied design strategies and the considered products.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christian Spreafico
- Department of Management, Information and Production Engineering, University of Bergamo, Via Marconi 5, 24044, Dalmine, Bergamo, Italy.
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Sarkhosh T, Mayerberger E, Jellison K, Jedlicka S. Development of cell-imprinted polymer surfaces for Cryptosporidium capture and detection. WATER RESEARCH 2021; 205:117675. [PMID: 34600226 DOI: 10.1016/j.watres.2021.117675] [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: 06/17/2021] [Revised: 09/14/2021] [Accepted: 09/15/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Cryptosporidium parvum is waterborne parasite that can cause potentially life-threatening gastrointestinal disease and is resistant to conventional water treatment processes, including chlorine disinfection. The current Environmental Protection Agency-approved method for oocyst detection and quantification is expensive, limiting the ability of water utilities to monitor complex watersheds thoroughly to understand the fate and transport of C. parvum oocysts. In this work, whole cell imprinting was used to create selective and sensitive surfaces for the capture of C. parvum oocysts in water. Cell-imprinted Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) was manufactured using a modified stamping approach, and sensitivity and selectivity were analyzed using different water chemistries and different surrogate biological and non-biological particles. The overall binding affinity was determined to be less than that of highly specific antibodies, but on par with standard antibodies and immune-enabled technologies. These initial results demonstrate the potential for developing devices using cell-imprinting for use in waterborne pathogen analysis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tooba Sarkhosh
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Lehigh University, Bethlehem, PA, USA
| | - Elisa Mayerberger
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Lehigh University, Bethlehem, PA, USA
| | - Kristen Jellison
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Lehigh University, Bethlehem, PA, USA
| | - Sabrina Jedlicka
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Lehigh University, Bethlehem, PA, USA; Department of Bioengineering, Lehigh University, Bethlehem, PA, USA
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Oh C, Sun PP, Araud E, Nguyen TH. Mechanism and efficacy of virus inactivation by a microplasma UV lamp generating monochromatic UV irradiation at 222 nm. WATER RESEARCH 2020; 186:116386. [PMID: 32927421 DOI: 10.1016/j.watres.2020.116386] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/19/2020] [Revised: 09/01/2020] [Accepted: 09/02/2020] [Indexed: 05/24/2023]
Abstract
This study evaluated the potential of a microplasma UV lamp as an alternative UV source to the current mercury-based (Hg-based) UV lamp for water disinfection. We developed a set of PCR-based molecular assays (long-range qPCR, DNase, and binding assay) to quantify the adenovirus genome, capsid, and fiber damage with a wide detection range (100.5-106.5 PFU/mL). We used these molecular assays to characterize adenovirus (AdV) inactivation kinetics by microplasma UV that produced monochromatic UV at 222 nm. We found that the inactivation rate constant (0.142 cm2/mJ) due to microplasma UV was 4.4 times higher than that of low-pressure Hg UV (0.032 cm2/mJ). This high efficacy was attributed to monochromatic UV wavelength at 222 nm damaging the AdV capsid protein. The results of these molecular assays also proved that microplasma UV and medium-pressure Hg UV with a bandpass filter at 223 nm (MPUV223nm) have a similar influence on AdV (p>0.05). We then estimated the relative energy efficiency of MPUV and microplasma UV to LPUV for 4 log reduction of the viruses. We found that the microplasma UV resulted in higher inactivation rate constants for viruses than the current Hg-based UV. Consequently, microplasma UV could be more energy efficient than low-pressure Hg UV for water disinfection if the wall-plug efficiency of the microplasma UV lamp improved to 8.4% (currently 1.5%). Therefore, the microplasma UV lamp is a promising option for water disinfection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chamteut Oh
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, United States
| | - Peter P Sun
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, United States; Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, United States
| | - Elbashir Araud
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, United States; Holonyak Micro & Nanotechnology Lab, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, United States
| | - Thanh H Nguyen
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, United States; Institute of Genomic Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, United States.
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Wu B, Hong H, Xia Z, Liu H, Chen X, Chen J, Yan B, Liang Y. Transcriptome analyses unravel CYP1A1 and CYP1B1 as novel biomarkers for disinfection by-products (DBPs) derived from chlorinated algal organic matter. JOURNAL OF HAZARDOUS MATERIALS 2020; 387:121685. [PMID: 31776088 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2019.121685] [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: 07/30/2019] [Revised: 10/11/2019] [Accepted: 11/11/2019] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Disinfection by-products (DBPs) are generated during chlorination of drinking water. Previous studies demonstrate that DBPs are cytotoxic, genotoxic and associated with an increased risk of human cancer. However, the molecular basis of DBPs-induced toxic effects remains unclear. Here, we chlorinated samples of algal-derived organic matter (AOM) and sediment organic matter (SOM) from a local drinking water reservoir. Chemical properties, toxicities and transcriptomic profiles of human Caco-2 cell exposed to AOM and SOM were compared before and after chlorination. We analyzed chlorination-caused distinct gene expression patterns between AOM and SOM, and identified a set of 22 differentially expressed genes under chlorination of AOM that are different from chlorinated SOM. Consequent network analysis indicates that differential CYP1A1, CYP1B1, ID1 and ID2 are common targets of the upstream regulators predicted in the AOM group, but not the SOM group. Through experimental validation and data integration from previous reports related to DBPs or environmental stressors, we found that CYP1A1 and CYP1B1 are specifically up-regulated after chlorinating AOM. Our study demonstrates that the two CYP1 genes likely act as novel biomarkers of AOM derived DBPs, and this would be helpful for testing drinking water DBPs toxicity and further monitoring drinking water safety.
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Affiliation(s)
- Binbin Wu
- Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, 518055, China; School of Resources and Environment, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, 611731, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China
| | - Huachang Hong
- College of Geography and Environmental Science, Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua, 321004, China
| | - Zhengyuan Xia
- Department of Anesthesiology, LKS Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
| | - Hailong Liu
- School of Resources and Environment, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, 611731, China
| | - Xi Chen
- School of Resources and Environment, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, 611731, China
| | - Junhui Chen
- Intervention and Cell Therapy Center, Peking University Shenzhen Hospital, Shenzhen, 518036, China
| | - Bin Yan
- Intervention and Cell Therapy Center, Peking University Shenzhen Hospital, Shenzhen, 518036, China; School of Biomedical Sciences & Department of Computer Science, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China..
| | - Yan Liang
- School of Resources and Environment, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, 611731, China; College of Geography and Environmental Science, Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua, 321004, China.
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Jones CH, Meyer J, Cornejo PK, Hogrewe W, Seidel CJ, Cook SM. A new framework for small drinking water plant sustainability support and decision-making. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2019; 695:133899. [PMID: 31756869 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.133899] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/26/2019] [Revised: 07/27/2019] [Accepted: 08/12/2019] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Public drinking water system decisions about treatment processes are becoming more challenging, especially as regulations become more stringent and source water quality degrades. For small systems that serve <10,000 people, treatment decisions are particularly difficult due to limited resources and because they do not currently have resources to help them make informed and sustainable decisions using environmental, social, and economic criteria. Therefore, a user-friendly sustainability assessment framework, which compares treatment processes relevant to a wide variety of small drinking water systems, was constructed. In summary, the framework uses life cycle assessment and multiple-criteria decision analysis to comprehensively evaluate twelve decision criteria, developed specific to small drinking water systems; the framework then uses an aggregation approach to identify and navigate multiple trade-offs and make a final recommendation based on stakeholder values. Four hypothetical scenarios were examined to show the framework's applicability to diverse small systems, ability to help stakeholders navigate trade-offs, and engineering relevance. The framework is universal in its capacity to evaluate systems with different design parameters, source waters, treatment criteria, and stakeholder preferences.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christopher H Jones
- Department of Civil, Environmental, and Architectural Engineering, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO 80309, United States of America
| | - John Meyer
- Department of Civil, Environmental, and Architectural Engineering, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO 80309, United States of America; Carollo Engineering, Inc, United States of America
| | - Pablo K Cornejo
- Department of Civil Engineering, California State University, Chico, United States of America
| | - William Hogrewe
- Rural Community Assistance Partnership, United States of America
| | - Chad J Seidel
- Department of Civil, Environmental, and Architectural Engineering, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO 80309, United States of America; Corona Environmental Consulting, LLC, United States of America
| | - Sherri M Cook
- Department of Civil, Environmental, and Architectural Engineering, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO 80309, United States of America.
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8
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Hull NM, Herold WH, Linden KG. UV LED water disinfection: Validation and small system demonstration study. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2019. [DOI: 10.1002/aws2.1148] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Natalie M. Hull
- Department of Civil, Environmental, and Architectural EngineeringUniversity of Colorado Boulder Colorado
| | - William H. Herold
- Department of Civil, Environmental, and Architectural EngineeringUniversity of Colorado Boulder Colorado
| | - Karl G. Linden
- Department of Civil, Environmental, and Architectural EngineeringUniversity of Colorado Boulder Colorado
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Christiaens MER, Udert KM, Arends JBA, Huysman S, Vanhaecke L, McAdam E, Rabaey K. Membrane stripping enables effective electrochemical ammonia recovery from urine while retaining microorganisms and micropollutants. WATER RESEARCH 2019; 150:349-357. [PMID: 30530129 DOI: 10.1016/j.watres.2018.11.072] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/11/2018] [Revised: 11/10/2018] [Accepted: 11/27/2018] [Indexed: 05/24/2023]
Abstract
Ammonia recovery from urine avoids the need for nitrogen removal through nitrification/denitrification and re-synthesis of ammonia (NH3) via the Haber-Bosch process. Previously, we coupled an alkalifying electrochemical cell to a stripping column, and achieved competitive nitrogen removal and energy efficiencies using only electricity as input, compared to other technologies such as conventional column stripping with air. Direct liquid-liquid extraction with a hydrophobic gas membrane could be an alternative to increase nitrogen recovery from urine into the absorbent while minimizing energy requirements, as well as ensuring microbial and micropollutant retention. Here we compared a column with a membrane stripping reactor, each coupled to an electrochemical cell, fed with source-separated urine and operated at 20 A m-2. Both systems achieved similar nitrogen removal rates, 0.34 ± 0.21 and 0.35 ± 0.08 mol N L-1 d-1, and removal efficiencies, 45.1 ± 18.4 and 49.0 ± 9.3%, for the column and membrane reactor, respectively. The membrane reactor improved nitrogen recovery to 0.27 ± 0.09 mol N L-1 d-1 (38.7 ± 13.5%) while lowering the operational (electrochemical and pumping) energy to 6.5 kWhe kg N-1 recovered, compared to the column reactor, which reached 0.15 ± 0.06 mol N L-1 d-1 (17.2 ± 8.1%) at 13.8 kWhe kg N-1. Increased cell concentrations of an autofluorescent E. coli MG1655 + prpsM spiked in the urine influent were observed in the absorbent of the column stripping reactor after 24 h, but not for the membrane stripping reactor. None of six selected micropollutants spiked in the urine were found in the absorbent of both technologies. Overall, the membrane stripping reactor is preferred as it improved nitrogen recovery with less energy input and generated an E. coli- and micropollutant-free product for potential safe reuse. Nitrogen removal rate and efficiency can be further optimized by increasing the NH3 vapor pressure gradient and/or membrane surface area.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marlies E R Christiaens
- Center for Microbial Ecology and Technology (CMET), Ghent University, Coupure Links 653, B-9000, Gent, Belgium
| | - Kai M Udert
- Department of Process Engineering, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology (Eawag), Überlandstrasse 133, CH-8600, Dübendorf, Switzerland; Institute of Environmental Engineering, ETH Zürich, Stefano-Franscini-Platz 5, CH-8093, Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Jan B A Arends
- Center for Microbial Ecology and Technology (CMET), Ghent University, Coupure Links 653, B-9000, Gent, Belgium
| | - Steve Huysman
- Laboratory of Chemical Analysis, Department of Veterinary Public Health and Food Safety, Ghent University, Salisburylaan 133 D1, B-9820, Merelbeke, Belgium
| | - Lynn Vanhaecke
- Laboratory of Chemical Analysis, Department of Veterinary Public Health and Food Safety, Ghent University, Salisburylaan 133 D1, B-9820, Merelbeke, Belgium
| | - Ewan McAdam
- Cranfield Water Science Institute, Cranfield University, College Road, MK43 OAL, Bedfordshire, UK
| | - Korneel Rabaey
- Center for Microbial Ecology and Technology (CMET), Ghent University, Coupure Links 653, B-9000, Gent, Belgium.
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