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Larsen TA, Riechmann ME, Udert KM. State of the art of urine treatment technologies: A critical review. WATER RESEARCH X 2021; 13:100114. [PMID: 34693239 PMCID: PMC8517923 DOI: 10.1016/j.wroa.2021.100114] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/20/2021] [Revised: 07/15/2021] [Accepted: 08/14/2021] [Indexed: 05/26/2023]
Abstract
Over the last 15 years, urine treatment technologies have developed from lab studies of a few pioneers to an interesting innovation, attracting attention from a growing number of process engineers. In this broad review, we present literature from more than a decade on biological, physical-chemical and electrochemical urine treatment processes. Like in the first review on urine treatment from 2006, we categorize the technologies according to the following objectives: stabilization, volume reduction, targeted N-recovery, targeted P-recovery, nutrient removal, sanitization, and handling of organic micropollutants. We add energy recovery as a new objective, because extensive work has been done on electrochemical energy harvesting, especially with bio-electrochemical systems. Our review reveals that biological processes are a good choice for urine stabilization. They have the advantage of little demand for chemicals and energy. Due to instabilities, however, they are not suited for bathroom applications and they cannot provide the desired volume reduction on their own. A number of physical-chemical treatment technologies are applicable at bathroom scale and can provide the necessary volume reduction, but only with a steady supply of chemicals and often with high demand for energy and maintenance. Electrochemical processes is a recent, but rapidly growing field, which could give rise to exciting technologies at bathroom scale, although energy production might only be interesting for niche applications. The review includes a qualitative assessment of all unit processes. A quantitative comparison of treatment performance was not the goal of the study and could anyway only be done for complete treatment trains. An important next step in urine technology research and development will be the combination of unit processes to set up and test robust treatment trains. We hope that the present review will help guide these efforts to accelerate the development towards a mature technology with pilot scale and eventually full-scale implementations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tove A. Larsen
- Eawag, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, 8600 Dübendorf, Switzerland
| | - Michel E. Riechmann
- Eawag, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, 8600 Dübendorf, Switzerland
| | - Kai M. Udert
- Eawag, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, 8600 Dübendorf, Switzerland
- ETH Zürich, Institute of Environmental Engineering, 8093 Zürich, Switzerland
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2
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De Paepe J, Clauwaert P, Gritti MC, Ganigué R, Sas B, Vlaeminck SE, Rabaey K. Electrochemical In Situ pH Control Enables Chemical-Free Full Urine Nitrification with Concomitant Nitrate Extraction. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 2021; 55:8287-8298. [PMID: 34086451 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.1c00041] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Urine is a valuable resource for nutrient recovery. Stabilization is, however, recommended to prevent urea hydrolysis and the associated risk for ammonia volatilization, uncontrolled precipitation, and malodor. This can be achieved by alkalinization and subsequent biological conversion of urea and ammonia into nitrate (nitrification) and organics into CO2. Yet, without pH control, the extent of nitrification is limited as a result of insufficient alkalinity. This study explored the feasibility of an integrated electrochemical cell to obtain on-demand hydroxide production through water reduction at the cathode, compensating for the acidification caused by nitritation, thereby enabling full nitrification. To deal with the inherent variability of the urine influent composition and bioprocess, the electrochemical cell was steered via a controller, modulating the current based on the pH in the bioreactor. This provided a reliable and innovative alternative to base addition, enabling full nitrification while avoiding the use of chemicals, the logistics associated with base storage and dosing, and the associated increase in salinity. Moreover, the electrochemical cell could be used as an in situ extraction and concentration technology, yielding an acidic concentrated nitrate-rich stream. The make-up of the end product could be tailored by tweaking the process configuration, offering versatility for applications on Earth and in space.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jolien De Paepe
- Center for Microbial Ecology and Technology (CMET), Department of Biotechnology, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Coupure Links 653, 9000 Gent, Belgium
- Departament d'Enginyeria Química, Biològica I Ambiental, Escola d'Enginyeria, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Bellaterra 08193 Barcelona, Spain
- Centre for Advanced Process Technology and Urban Resource Efficiency (CAPTURE), Belgium, Ghent University, 9000 Gent, Belgium
| | - Peter Clauwaert
- Center for Microbial Ecology and Technology (CMET), Department of Biotechnology, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Coupure Links 653, 9000 Gent, Belgium
- Centre for Advanced Process Technology and Urban Resource Efficiency (CAPTURE), Belgium, Ghent University, 9000 Gent, Belgium
| | - Maria Celeste Gritti
- Center for Microbial Ecology and Technology (CMET), Department of Biotechnology, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Coupure Links 653, 9000 Gent, Belgium
| | - Ramon Ganigué
- Center for Microbial Ecology and Technology (CMET), Department of Biotechnology, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Coupure Links 653, 9000 Gent, Belgium
- Centre for Advanced Process Technology and Urban Resource Efficiency (CAPTURE), Belgium, Ghent University, 9000 Gent, Belgium
| | - Benedikt Sas
- Department of Food Quality and Food Safety, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Coupure links 653, 9000 Gent, Belgium
| | - Siegfried E Vlaeminck
- Centre for Advanced Process Technology and Urban Resource Efficiency (CAPTURE), Belgium, Ghent University, 9000 Gent, Belgium
- Research Group of Sustainable Energy, Air and Water Technology, Department of Bioscience Engineering, University of Antwerp, Groenenborgerlaan 171, 2020 Antwerpen, Belgium
| | - Korneel Rabaey
- Center for Microbial Ecology and Technology (CMET), Department of Biotechnology, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Coupure Links 653, 9000 Gent, Belgium
- Centre for Advanced Process Technology and Urban Resource Efficiency (CAPTURE), Belgium, Ghent University, 9000 Gent, Belgium
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Janiak K, Jurga A, Wizimirska A, Miodoński S, Muszyński-Huhajło M, Ratkiewicz K, Zięba B. Urine nitrification robustness for application in space: Effect of high salinity and the response to extreme free ammonia concentrations. JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT 2021; 279:111610. [PMID: 33223353 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2020.111610] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/23/2020] [Revised: 09/16/2020] [Accepted: 11/01/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Urine nitrification is one of the possibilities for the future recovery of water and elements for soilless crop production in space systems. The start-up of artificial urine nitrification was conducted for over 85 days in a sequencing batch reactor (SBR). Two free ammonia (FA) incidents occurred, which gave the opportunity to demonstrate the impressive ability of nitrifiers to resist temporary inhibition by FA without long lasting adverse effects. The failures led to very high FA concentrations of 280 and 84 gN-NH3/m3, respectively. Sludge was exposed to FA for 19 and 27 h. It was possible to restore nitrification with simple remedy actions (dilution and pH restoration). No inhibitory effects on the nitrification rate were seen after implementation of the remedy actions and the nitrification rate increased considerably (up to 300% of the pre-failure value) due to decrease in salinity. After a few days of normal operation and salt concentration, the nitrification rate returned to the pre-failure values in both cases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kamil Janiak
- Faculty of Environmental Engineering, Wroclaw University of Science and Technology, Wybrzeże Wyspiańskiego 27, 50-370, Wroclaw, Poland; Wroclaw Municipal Water and Sewage Company, Na Grobli 14/16 50-421, Wrocław, Poland.
| | - Anna Jurga
- Faculty of Environmental Engineering, Wroclaw University of Science and Technology, Wybrzeże Wyspiańskiego 27, 50-370, Wroclaw, Poland
| | - Anna Wizimirska
- Faculty of Environmental Engineering, Wroclaw University of Science and Technology, Wybrzeże Wyspiańskiego 27, 50-370, Wroclaw, Poland
| | - Stanisław Miodoński
- Faculty of Environmental Engineering, Wroclaw University of Science and Technology, Wybrzeże Wyspiańskiego 27, 50-370, Wroclaw, Poland
| | - Mateusz Muszyński-Huhajło
- Faculty of Environmental Engineering, Wroclaw University of Science and Technology, Wybrzeże Wyspiańskiego 27, 50-370, Wroclaw, Poland
| | - Krzysztof Ratkiewicz
- Faculty of Environmental Engineering, Wroclaw University of Science and Technology, Wybrzeże Wyspiańskiego 27, 50-370, Wroclaw, Poland
| | - Bartosz Zięba
- Faculty of Environmental Engineering, Wroclaw University of Science and Technology, Wybrzeże Wyspiańskiego 27, 50-370, Wroclaw, Poland
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De Paepe J, De Paepe K, Gòdia F, Rabaey K, Vlaeminck SE, Clauwaert P. Bio-electrochemical COD removal for energy-efficient, maximum and robust nitrogen recovery from urine through membrane aerated nitrification. WATER RESEARCH 2020; 185:116223. [PMID: 32739699 DOI: 10.1016/j.watres.2020.116223] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/12/2020] [Revised: 07/17/2020] [Accepted: 07/23/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Resource recovery from source-separated urine can shorten nutrient cycles on Earth and is essential in regenerative life support systems for deep-space exploration. In this study, a robust two-stage, energy-efficient, gravity-independent urine treatment system was developed to transform fresh real human urine into a stable nutrient solution. In the first stage, up to 85% of the COD was removed in a microbial electrolysis cell (MEC), converting part of the energy in organic compounds (27-46%) into hydrogen gas and enabling full nitrogen recovery by preventing nitrogen losses through denitrification in the second stage. Besides COD removal, all urea was hydrolysed in the MEC, resulting in a stream rich in ammoniacal nitrogen and alkalinity, and low in COD. This stream was fed into a membrane-aerated biofilm reactor (MABR) in order to convert the volatile and toxic ammoniacal nitrogen to non-volatile nitrate by nitrification. Bio-electrochemical pre-treatment allowed to recover all nitrogen as nitrate in the MABR at a bulk-phase dissolved oxygen level below 0.1 mg O2 L-1. In contrast, feeding the MABR directly with raw urine (omitting the first stage), at the same nitrogen loading rate, resulted in nitrogen loss (18%) due to denitrification. The MEC and MABR were characterised by very distinct and diverse microbial communities. While (strictly) anaerobic genera, such as Geobacter (electroactive bacteria), Thiopseudomonas, a Lentimicrobiaceae member, Alcaligenes and Proteiniphilum prevailed in the MEC, the MABR was dominated by aerobic genera, including Nitrosomonas (a known ammonium oxidiser), Moheibacter and Gordonia. The two-stage approach yielded a stable nitrate-rich, COD-low nutrient solution, suitable for plant and microalgae cultivation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jolien De Paepe
- Center for Microbial Ecology and Technology (CMET), Department of Biotechnology, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Coupure Links 653, 9000 Gent, Belgium; Departament d'Enginyeria Química, Biològica I Ambiental, Escola d'Enginyeria, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Bellaterra 08193 Barcelona, Spain; Center for Advanced Process Technology and Urban Resource Efficiency (CAPTURE), Belgium
| | - Kim De Paepe
- Center for Microbial Ecology and Technology (CMET), Department of Biotechnology, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Coupure Links 653, 9000 Gent, Belgium
| | - Francesc Gòdia
- Departament d'Enginyeria Química, Biològica I Ambiental, Escola d'Enginyeria, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Bellaterra 08193 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Korneel Rabaey
- Center for Microbial Ecology and Technology (CMET), Department of Biotechnology, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Coupure Links 653, 9000 Gent, Belgium; Center for Advanced Process Technology and Urban Resource Efficiency (CAPTURE), Belgium.
| | - Siegfried E Vlaeminck
- Center for Advanced Process Technology and Urban Resource Efficiency (CAPTURE), Belgium; Research Group of Sustainable Energy, Air and Water Technology, Department of Bioscience Engineering, University of Antwerp, Groenenborgerlaan 171, 2020 Antwerpen, Belgium
| | - Peter Clauwaert
- Center for Microbial Ecology and Technology (CMET), Department of Biotechnology, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Coupure Links 653, 9000 Gent, Belgium; Center for Advanced Process Technology and Urban Resource Efficiency (CAPTURE), Belgium
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5
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Zuo Z, Song Y, Ren D, Li H, Gao Y, Yuan Z, Huang X, Zheng M, Liu Y. Control sulfide and methane production in sewers based on free ammonia inactivation. ENVIRONMENT INTERNATIONAL 2020; 143:105928. [PMID: 32673907 DOI: 10.1016/j.envint.2020.105928] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/01/2020] [Revised: 06/09/2020] [Accepted: 06/22/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Emissions of hydrogen sulfide and methane are two of the major concerns in sewers, causing corrosion, odour and health problems. This study proposed a new free ammonia (FA)-based approach for controlling the biological production of sulfide and methane in sewers. This is based on the discovery that the FA contained in urine wastewater is strongly biocidal to anaerobic sewer biofilms. Long-term operation of two laboratory sewer reactors, with one being dosed with urine wastewater and the other being dosed with raw sewage as a control, revealed the effectiveness of the proposed FA approach. The results showed that dosing of real urine wastewater at FA concentration of 154 mg NH3-N/L with exposure for 24 h immediately reduced over 80% sulfide and methane in the experimental sewer reactor, while the time for recovering 50% sulfide and methane production were 6 days and 28 days, respectively. It also showed that intermittent dosing with an interval time of 5-15 days reduced around 60% sulfide on average. As suggested by community analysis, the remaining sulfide might be produced by a sulfate-reducing bacterial genus Desulfobulbus. Collectively, urine is a part of municipal sewage, and thus separation and re-dosing of the urine wastewater into the sewer for sulfide and methane control should enable the minimization of operational costs and environmental impacts, compared with the previous dosing of chemicals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhiqiang Zuo
- State Key Joint Laboratory of Environment Simulation and Pollution Control, School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
| | - Yarong Song
- Advanced Water Management Centre, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia
| | - Daheng Ren
- State Key Joint Laboratory of Environment Simulation and Pollution Control, School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
| | - He Li
- State Key Joint Laboratory of Environment Simulation and Pollution Control, School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
| | - Ying Gao
- State Key Joint Laboratory of Environment Simulation and Pollution Control, School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
| | - Zhiguo Yuan
- Advanced Water Management Centre, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia
| | - Xia Huang
- State Key Joint Laboratory of Environment Simulation and Pollution Control, School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
| | - Min Zheng
- Advanced Water Management Centre, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia.
| | - Yanchen Liu
- State Key Joint Laboratory of Environment Simulation and Pollution Control, School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China.
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6
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Christiaens ME, De Paepe J, Ilgrande C, De Vrieze J, Barys J, Teirlinck P, Meerbergen K, Lievens B, Boon N, Clauwaert P, Vlaeminck SE. Urine nitrification with a synthetic microbial community. Syst Appl Microbiol 2019; 42:126021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.syapm.2019.126021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/14/2018] [Revised: 08/14/2019] [Accepted: 08/30/2019] [Indexed: 01/23/2023]
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7
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Liang ZS, Sun J, Chau HKM, Leong EIM, Wu D, Chen GH, Jiang F. Experimental and modelling evaluations of sulfide formation in a mega-sized deep tunnel sewer system and implications for sewer management. ENVIRONMENT INTERNATIONAL 2019; 131:105011. [PMID: 31374444 DOI: 10.1016/j.envint.2019.105011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/06/2019] [Revised: 06/25/2019] [Accepted: 07/11/2019] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Mega-sized deep tunnel sewer systems are indispensable infrastructures to convey the sewage and/or stormwater to the centralized sewage treatment works in large cities with dense populations and limited land. The rapid urbanization in China and other countries is boosting the construction of the deep tunnel sewer systems. However, the formation of sulfide, which induces serious odor nuisance and sewer corrosion, has not been investigated in such sewer systems. Taking a real Sewage Conveyance System (SCS) with 23.3 km-long and 70-160 m-deep interconnected tunnels in Hong Kong as a representative example, this study conducted experimental and modelling investigations to evaluate the sulfide formation in the mega-sized deep tunnel sewer systems. The field investigation revealed that the daily sulfide production rate in the SCS was up to 1410 kg S/d, suggesting the substantial sulfide production during the long-distance and long-time sewage conveyance. Using a validated Biofilm-Initiated Sewer Process Model (BISM), the sulfide formation in the SCS under the influences of various factors, which are relevant to the situations in China and other countries, were simulated. The simulation results showed that 89% of the total sulfide production in the SCS was generated in the two tunnels with long hydraulic retention times (HRT) and large flowrates. The specific sulfide formation rates exhibited a linear relationship with HRT (R2 = 0.61), but the linear relationship with the sewer diameter was weak. The sulfide production rate increased with increasing temperature (12 °C-32 °C) by 3.5 times, and it only decreased by 50% when the sulfate concentration decreased from 309 to 17 mg S/L, indicating that serious sulfide pollution could still happen in the sewers with a low concertation of sulfate in sewage. Increasing the organic levels in sewage would also promote the sulfide production in sewers. The flowrate would not influence the sulfide production rate significantly, but a storm event could remarkably reduce the sulfide production in rainy days. The findings unveil the potential serious sulfide problems in the mega-sized deep tunnel sewer systems, which are being increasingly constructed in China and other countries. To mitigate the odor and corrosion problems in the deep tunnel sewer systems, the sulfide control strategies should be considered during the sewer design and management.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhen-Sheng Liang
- School of Chemistry & Environment, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510631, China
| | - Jianliang Sun
- School of Chemistry & Environment, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510631, China
| | - Henry Kwok-Ming Chau
- Drainage Services Department, the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China
| | | | - Di Wu
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Water Technology Center, Hong Kong Branch of Chinese National Engineering Research Center for Control & Treatment of Heavy Metal Pollution, The Hong Kong University of Science & Technology, Clear Water Bay, Hong Kong, China
| | - Guang-Hao Chen
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Water Technology Center, Hong Kong Branch of Chinese National Engineering Research Center for Control & Treatment of Heavy Metal Pollution, The Hong Kong University of Science & Technology, Clear Water Bay, Hong Kong, China
| | - Feng Jiang
- School of Chemistry & Environment, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510631, China; School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, 510006, China.
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Zan F, Liang Z, Jiang F, Dai J, Chen G. Effects of food waste addition on biofilm formation and sulfide production in a gravity sewer. WATER RESEARCH 2019; 157:74-82. [PMID: 30953857 DOI: 10.1016/j.watres.2019.03.061] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/25/2018] [Revised: 03/01/2019] [Accepted: 03/02/2019] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
The conversion of food waste (FW) into the sewage system is regarded as a promising method of relieving the burden of solid waste management. However, knowledge about its effects on sewer processes is limited, particularly in terms of biofilm formation and sulfide production. In this study, a gravity sewer system was set up to investigate the effects of the addition of FW on biofilm formation, the sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB) population, and the sulfide production potential. The sewer biofilm characteristics changed with long-term FW addition, and a greater thickness (by 32%), an increased dry density (by 13%), and more extracellular polymeric substance (by 141%) were observed. The thicker and denser biofilm limited oxygen diffusion, enlarged the anaerobic area in the sewer biofilm, promoted an increase in the SRB population, and enhanced the sulfide production potential in the gravity sewer. Substantial differences in the H2S profiles in the biofilm samples with and without the addition of FW were observed via microelectrode analysis. A model-based investigation of sewer biofilm formation with and without the addition of FW was conducted with a dynamic sewer biofilm model to gain further insights into sewer biofilm processes. The results suggest that the addition of FW can promote sulfide production and SRB growth in a sewer biofilm, which can be significantly affected by the ratio of FW to sewage. It is worth further investigations of the impacts of FW addition on the potential sulfide production in pressure sewers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Feixiang Zan
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Water Technology Center, Hong Kong Branch of Chinese National Engineering Research Center for Control & Treatment of Heavy Metal Pollution, The Hong Kong University of Science & Technology, Clear Water Bay, Hong Kong
| | - Zhensheng Liang
- School of Chemistry & Environment, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Feng Jiang
- School of Chemistry & Environment, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China.
| | - Ji Dai
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Water Technology Center, Hong Kong Branch of Chinese National Engineering Research Center for Control & Treatment of Heavy Metal Pollution, The Hong Kong University of Science & Technology, Clear Water Bay, Hong Kong.
| | - Guanghao Chen
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Water Technology Center, Hong Kong Branch of Chinese National Engineering Research Center for Control & Treatment of Heavy Metal Pollution, The Hong Kong University of Science & Technology, Clear Water Bay, Hong Kong; Fok Ying Tung Research Institute, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Hong Kong
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Guo B, Liu C, Gibson C, Frigon D. Wastewater microbial community structure and functional traits change over short timescales. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2019; 662:779-785. [PMID: 30708293 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.01.207] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/18/2018] [Revised: 12/31/2018] [Accepted: 01/16/2019] [Indexed: 05/06/2023]
Abstract
Wastewater contains microorganisms coming from various sources, e.g. feces discharges, soil infiltrations and sewer biofilms and sediments. The primary objective of this work was to determine if end-of-pipe wastewater microbial community structures exhibits short-timescale variation, and assess possible microbial origins. To this end, we measured hourly physicochemical characteristics of wastewater influent for 2 days and analyzed the microbial community at 4-h intervals using 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing. Results showed large variations in the microbial community composition at phylum and genus levels, i.e. Proteobacteria ranged from 44 to 63% of the total relative abundance and Arcobacter ranged from 11 to 22%. Diurnal patterns were observed in the alpha-diversity, beta-diversity and the prevalence of several taxa. Wastewater physicochemical characteristics explained 61% of the total microbial community variance by Canonical Correspondence Analysis (CCA), with flow rate being the main explanatory variable exhibiting a clear diurnal profile. Comparison with public databases using closed reference OTUs revealed that only 7.3% of the sequences were shared with human gut microbiota and 21.7% with soil microbiota, the majority being from the sewer biofilms and sediments. The functional trait, weighted average ribosomal RNA operon (rrn) copy number per genome, was found to be relatively high in the wastewater microbiota (average 3.6, soil 2.1, and human gut 2.6) and significantly correlated with flow, inferring active microbial enrichments in the sewer. The prevalence of Methylophilaceae, methanol oxidation genes and denitrification genes were related to high influent methanol and NO3- concentration in the influent wastewater. These functional organisms and genes indicate important carbon and nutrient removal related functions in the sewer. Together, the observed temporal patterns of the microbial community and functional traits suggest that high wastewater flow causes greater transport of active sewer microorganisms which are functionally important.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bing Guo
- Department of Civil Engineering and Applied Mechanics, McGill University, 817 Sherbrooke Street West, Montreal, Quebec H3A 0C3, Canada
| | - Chenxiao Liu
- Department of Civil Engineering and Applied Mechanics, McGill University, 817 Sherbrooke Street West, Montreal, Quebec H3A 0C3, Canada
| | - Claire Gibson
- Department of Civil Engineering and Applied Mechanics, McGill University, 817 Sherbrooke Street West, Montreal, Quebec H3A 0C3, Canada
| | - Dominic Frigon
- Department of Civil Engineering and Applied Mechanics, McGill University, 817 Sherbrooke Street West, Montreal, Quebec H3A 0C3, Canada.
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10
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Liang S, Zhang L, Jiang F. Indirect sulfur reduction via polysulfide contributes to serious odor problem in a sewer receiving nitrate dosage. WATER RESEARCH 2016; 100:421-428. [PMID: 27232986 DOI: 10.1016/j.watres.2016.05.036] [Citation(s) in RCA: 53] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/05/2016] [Revised: 04/20/2016] [Accepted: 05/09/2016] [Indexed: 06/05/2023]
Abstract
Nitrate dosing is commonly used to control hydrogen sulfide production in sewer systems. However, quick rebound of the sulfide concentration after nitrate depletion has been observed and results in more serious odor and corrosion problem. To investigate the mechanism of sulfide regeneration in the nitrate-free period, a laboratory-scale sewer reactor was run for 30 days to simulate sulfide production and oxidation with intermittent nitrate addition. The results show that nitrate addition substantially reduced the sulfide concentration, but the produced elemental sulfur was then quickly reduced back to sulfide in nitrate-free periods. This induced more and more sulfide production in the sewer reactor. Elemental sulfur and polysulfide reductions were found in the sewage in nitrate-free periods, showing their contributions to the sulfide regeneration. Through batch tests, polysulfide was confirmed as the key intermediate for accelerating sulfur reduction during the nitrate-free period in the sewer. Sulfide production rates significantly increased by 65% and 59% in the presences of tetrasulfide and sulfur with sulfide, respectively, at the beginning of the test. While polysulfide formation was prevented by the ferrous chloride addition, the sulfur reduction rate remarkably decreased from 12.8 mgS/L-h to 1.8 mgS/L-h. This indicates that direct sulfur reduction was significantly slower than the indirect sulfur reduction via polysulfide; the latter process could be the cause for the quick rebound of the sulfide concentration in the sewer with intermittent nitrate dosing. Thus, the pathways of sulfur transformations in a sewer, both in the presence and absence of nitrate, were proposed. Microbial community analysis results reveal that some common sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB) genera in sewer sediment were possible sulfur reducers. According to this finding, the effect and strategy of nitrate dosing for hydrogen sulfide control in sewers should be re-evaluated and re-considered.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shuang Liang
- School of Chemistry & Environment, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Liang Zhang
- School of Chemistry & Environment, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China; Department of Bioscience, Aarhus University, Aarhus C, Denmark
| | - Feng Jiang
- School of Chemistry & Environment, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China; Key Laboratory of Theoretical Chemistry of Environment, Ministry of Education, Guangzhou, China.
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11
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Hao TW, Xiang PY, Mackey HR, Chi K, Lu H, Chui HK, van Loosdrecht MCM, Chen GH. A review of biological sulfate conversions in wastewater treatment. WATER RESEARCH 2014; 65:1-21. [PMID: 25086411 DOI: 10.1016/j.watres.2014.06.043] [Citation(s) in RCA: 180] [Impact Index Per Article: 18.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/16/2014] [Revised: 06/26/2014] [Accepted: 06/30/2014] [Indexed: 06/03/2023]
Abstract
Treatment of waters contaminated with sulfur containing compounds (S) resulting from seawater intrusion, the use of seawater (e.g. seawater flushing, cooling) and industrial processes has become a challenging issue since around two thirds of the world's population live within 150 km of the coast. In the past, research has produced a number of bioengineered systems for remediation of industrial sulfate containing sewage and sulfur contaminated groundwater utilizing sulfate reducing bacteria (SRB). The majority of these studies are specific with SRB only or focusing on the microbiology rather than the engineered application. In this review, existing sulfate based biotechnologies and new approaches for sulfate contaminated waters treatment are discussed. The sulfur cycle connects with carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus cycles, thus a new platform of sulfur based biotechnologies incorporating sulfur cycle with other cycles can be developed, for the removal of sulfate and other pollutants (e.g. carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus and metal) from wastewaters. All possible electron donors for sulfate reduction are summarized for further understanding of the S related biotechnologies including rates and benefits/drawbacks of each electron donor. A review of known SRB and their environmental preferences with regard to bioreactor operational parameters (e.g. pH, temperature, salinity etc.) shed light on the optimization of sulfur conversion-based biotechnologies. This review not only summarizes information from the current sulfur conversion-based biotechnologies for further optimization and understanding, but also offers new directions for sulfur related biotechnology development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tian-wei Hao
- Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Kowloon, Hong Kong
| | - Peng-yu Xiang
- Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Kowloon, Hong Kong
| | - Hamish R Mackey
- Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Kowloon, Hong Kong
| | - Kun Chi
- Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Kowloon, Hong Kong
| | - Hui Lu
- SYSU-HKUST Joint Research Centre for Innovative Environmental Technology, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Ho-kwong Chui
- Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Kowloon, Hong Kong
| | - Mark C M van Loosdrecht
- Department of Biotechnology, Delft University of Technology, Julianalaan 67, 2628 BC, Delft, The Netherlands
| | - Guang-Hao Chen
- Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Kowloon, Hong Kong; SYSU-HKUST Joint Research Centre for Innovative Environmental Technology, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China.
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