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Oloye FF, Xie Y, Asadi M, Challis JK, Osunla CA, Xia P, Cantin J, Femi-Oloye OP, Brinkmann M, McPhedran KN, Sadowski M, Pandey S, Jones PD, Mangat C, Servos MR, Giesy JP. Solid-liquid distribution of SARS-CoV-2 in primary effluent of a wastewater treatment plant. MethodsX 2024; 12:102645. [PMID: 38524303 PMCID: PMC10957428 DOI: 10.1016/j.mex.2024.102645] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/19/2024] [Accepted: 03/04/2024] [Indexed: 03/26/2024] Open
Abstract
Distributions of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and fecal viral biomarkers between solid and liquid phases of wastewater are largely unknown. Herein, distributions of SARS-CoV-2, Pepper Mild Mottle Virus (PMMoV), and F-RNA bacteriophage group II (FRNAPH-II) were determined by viral RNA RT-qPCR. Comparison of viral recovery using three conventional fractionation methods included membrane filtration, a combination of mid-speed centrifugation and membrane filtration, and high-speed centrifugation. SARS-CoV-2 partitioned to the solids fraction in greater abundance compared to liquid fractions in a combination of mid-speed centrifugation and membrane filtration and high-speed centrifugation, but not in membrane filtration method in a particular assay, while fecal biomarkers (PMMoV and FRNAPH-II) exhibited the reciprocal relationship. The wastewater fractionation method had minimal effects on the solids-liquids distribution for all viral and phage markers tested; however, viral RNA load was significantly greater in solid-liquid fractions viral RNA loads compared with the than whole-wastewater PEG precipitation. A RNeasy PowerWater Kit with PCR inhibitor removal resulted in greater viral RNA loads and lesser PCR inhibition compared to a QIAamp Viral RNA Mini Kit without PCR inhibitor removal. These results support the development of improved methods and interpretation of WBE of SARS-CoV-2. •Distribution of SARS-CoV-2 to liquid and solid portions was addressed.•Addressing PCR inhibition is important in wastewater-based epidemiology.•Fraction methods have minimal effect.
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Affiliation(s)
- Femi F. Oloye
- Toxicology Centre, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada
| | - Yuwei Xie
- Toxicology Centre, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada
- Nanjing Institute of Environmental Science, Ministry of Ecology and Environment of China, Nanjing 210042, China
- Key Laboratory of Pesticide Environmental Assessment and Pollution Control, Ministry of Ecology and Environment of China, Nanjing 210042, China
| | - Mohsen Asadi
- Department of Civil, Geological and Environmental Engineering, College of Engineering, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada
| | | | - Charles A. Osunla
- Toxicology Centre, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada
| | - Pu Xia
- Toxicology Centre, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada
| | - Jenna Cantin
- Toxicology Centre, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada
| | | | - Markus Brinkmann
- Toxicology Centre, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada
- School of Environment and Sustainability, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada
- Global Institute for Water Security, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada
| | - Kerry N. McPhedran
- Department of Civil, Geological and Environmental Engineering, College of Engineering, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada
| | - Mike Sadowski
- Saskatoon Water Department, Wastewater Treatment Plant, City of Saskatoon, Saskatoon, SK, Canada
| | - Sudhir Pandey
- Saskatoon Water Department, Wastewater Treatment Plant, City of Saskatoon, Saskatoon, SK, Canada
| | - Paul D. Jones
- Toxicology Centre, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada
- School of Environment and Sustainability, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada
| | - Chand Mangat
- Antimicrobial Resistance and Nosocomial Infections, National Microbiology Laboratory / Public Health Agency of Canada, Canada
| | - Mark R. Servos
- Department of Biology, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON, Canada
| | - John P. Giesy
- Toxicology Centre, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada
- Department of Veterinary Biomedical Sciences, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada
- Department of Environmental Sciences, Baylor University, Waco, TX, USA
- Department of Zoology and Center for Integrative Toxicology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA
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2
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Minaei S, Zoroufchi Benis K, McPhedran KN, Soltan J. Adsorption of sulfamethoxazole and lincomycin from single and binary aqueous systems using acid-modified biochar from activated sludge biomass. J Environ Manage 2024; 358:120742. [PMID: 38593733 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2024.120742] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/13/2023] [Revised: 03/10/2024] [Accepted: 03/19/2024] [Indexed: 04/11/2024]
Abstract
The extensive use of pharmaceuticals has raised growing concerns regarding their presence in surface waters. High concentrations of sulfamethoxazole (SMX) and lincomycin (LIN), as commonly prescribed antibiotics, persist in various wastewaters and surface waters, posing risks to public health and the environment. Biochar derived from accessible biowaste, like activated sludge biomass, offers a sustainable and eco-friendly solution to mitigate antibiotic release into water systems. This study investigates the effectiveness of H3PO4-modified activated sludge-based biochar (PBC) synthesized through microwave (MW) heating for the adsorption of SMX and LIN antibiotics. The synthesis parameters of PBC were optimized using a central composite design considering MW power, time, and H3PO4 concentration. Characterization results validate the efficacy of the synthesis process creating a specific surface area of 365 m2/g, and well-developed porosity with abundant oxygen-containing functional groups. Batch and dynamic adsorption experiments were piloted to assess the adsorption performance of PBC in single and binary antibiotic systems. Results show that PBC exhibits a higher affinity for SMX rather than LIN, with maximum adsorption capacities of 45.6 mg/g and 26.6 mg/g, respectively. Based on kinetic studies chemisorption is suggested as the primary mechanism for SMX and LIN removal. Equilibrium studies show a strong agreement with the Redlich-Peterson isotherm, suggesting a composite adsorption mechanism with a greater probability of multilayer adsorption for both antibiotics. Hydrogen bonding and π-π electron sharing are suggested as the prevailing adsorption mechanisms of SMX and LIN on the modified biochar. Furthermore, a dynamic adsorption system was replicated using a fixed bed column setup, demonstrating effective removal of SMX and LIN from pure water and real wastewater samples using PBC-loaded hydrogel beads (PBC-B). These findings serve as crucial support for upcoming studies concerning the realistic application of sludge-based biochar in the removal of antibiotics from water systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shahab Minaei
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada
| | - Khaled Zoroufchi Benis
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada; Global Institute for Water Security, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada
| | - Kerry N McPhedran
- Department of Civil, Geological & Environmental Engineering, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada; Global Institute for Water Security, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada.
| | - Jafar Soltan
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada; Global Institute for Water Security, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada
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3
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Vander Meulen IJ, Steiger B, Asadi M, Peru KM, Degenhardt D, McMartin DW, McPhedran KN, Wilson LD, Headley JV. Low adsorption affinity of Athabasca oil sands naphthenic acid fraction compounds to a peat-mineral mixture. Chemosphere 2024:142076. [PMID: 38670506 DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2024.142076] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/12/2023] [Revised: 04/11/2024] [Accepted: 04/17/2024] [Indexed: 04/28/2024]
Abstract
Much of the toxicity in oil sands process-affected water in Athabasca oil sands tailings has been attributed to naphthenic acids (NAs) and associated naphthenic acid fraction compounds (NAFCs). Previous work has characterized the environmental behaviour and fate of these compounds, particularly in the context of constructed treatment wetlands. There is evidence that wetlands can attenuate NAFCs in natural and engineered contexts, but relative contributions of chemical, biotic, and physical adsorption with sequestration require deconvolution. In this work, the objective was to evaluate the extent to which prospective wetland substrate material may adsorb NAFCs using a peat-mineral mix (PMM) sourced from the Athabasca Oil Sands Region (AOSR). The PMM and NAFCs were first mixed and then equilibrated across a range of NAFC concentrations (5 to 500 mg/L) with moderate ionic strength and hardness (∼200 ppm combined Ca2+ and Mg2+) that approximate wetland water chemistry. Under these experimental conditions, low sorption of NAFCs to PMM was observed, where sorbed concentrations of NAFCs were approximately zero mg/kg at equilibrium. When NAFCs and PMM were mixed and equilibrated together at environmentally relevant concentrations, formula diversity increased more than could be explained by combining constituent spectra. The TOC present in this PMM was largely cellulose-derived, with low levels of thermally recalcitrant carbon (e.g., lignin, black carbon). The apparent enhancement of the concentration and diversity of components in PMM/NAFCs mixtures are likely related to aqueous solubility of some PMM-derived organic materials, as post-hoc combination of dissolved components from PMM and NAFCs cannot replicate enhanced complexity observed when the two components are agitated and equilibrated together.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ian J Vander Meulen
- University of Saskatchewan, Department of Civil, Geological and Environmental Engineering, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada; Environment and Climate Change Canada, Watershed Hydrology and Ecology Research Division, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
| | - Bernd Steiger
- University of Saskatchewan, Department of Chemistry, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada
| | - Mohsen Asadi
- University of Saskatchewan, Department of Civil, Geological and Environmental Engineering, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada
| | - Kerry M Peru
- University of Saskatchewan, Department of Civil, Geological and Environmental Engineering, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada
| | - Dani Degenhardt
- Natural Resources Canada, Canadian Forest Service, Edmonton, Alberta
| | - Dena W McMartin
- Office of the Vice President (Research), University of Lethbridge; University of Saskatchewan, Department of Civil, Geological and Environmental Engineering, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada
| | - Kerry N McPhedran
- University of Saskatchewan, Department of Civil, Geological and Environmental Engineering, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada
| | - Lee D Wilson
- University of Saskatchewan, Department of Chemistry, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada
| | - John V Headley
- Environment and Climate Change Canada, Watershed Hydrology and Ecology Research Division, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.
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Champredon D, Becker D, Peterson SW, Mejia E, Hizon N, Schertzer A, Djebli M, Oloye FF, Xie Y, Asadi M, Cantin J, Pu X, Osunla CA, Brinkmann M, McPhedran KN, Servos MR, Giesy JP, Mangat C. Emergence and spread of SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern in Canada: a retrospective analysis from clinical and wastewater data. BMC Infect Dis 2024; 24:139. [PMID: 38287244 PMCID: PMC10823614 DOI: 10.1186/s12879-024-08997-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/14/2023] [Accepted: 01/09/2024] [Indexed: 01/31/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The spread of SARS-CoV-2 has been studied at unprecedented levels worldwide. In jurisdictions where molecular analysis was performed on large scales, the emergence and competition of numerous SARS-CoV-2lineages have been observed in near real-time. Lineage identification, traditionally performed from clinical samples, can also be determined by sampling wastewater from sewersheds serving populations of interest. Variants of concern (VOCs) and SARS-CoV-2 lineages associated with increased transmissibility and/or severity are of particular interest. METHOD Here, we consider clinical and wastewater data sources to assess the emergence and spread of VOCs in Canada retrospectively. RESULTS We show that, overall, wastewater-based VOC identification provides similar insights to the surveillance based on clinical samples. Based on clinical data, we observed synchrony in VOC introduction as well as similar emergence speeds across most Canadian provinces despite the large geographical size of the country and differences in provincial public health measures. CONCLUSION In particular, it took approximately four months for VOC Alpha and Delta to contribute to half of the incidence. In contrast, VOC Omicron achieved the same contribution in less than one month. This study provides significant benchmarks to enhance planning for future VOCs, and to some extent for future pandemics caused by other pathogens, by quantifying the rate of SARS-CoV-2 VOCs invasion in Canada.
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Affiliation(s)
- David Champredon
- Public Health Agency of Canada, National Microbiology Laboratory, Public Health Risk Sciences Division, Guelph, ON, Canada.
| | - Devan Becker
- Public Health Agency of Canada, National Microbiology Laboratory, Public Health Risk Sciences Division, Guelph, ON, Canada
| | - Shelley W Peterson
- Public Health Agency of Canada, National Microbiology Laboratory, One Health Division, Winnipeg, MB, Canada
| | - Edgard Mejia
- Public Health Agency of Canada, National Microbiology Laboratory, One Health Division, Winnipeg, MB, Canada
| | - Nikho Hizon
- Public Health Agency of Canada, National Microbiology Laboratory, One Health Division, Winnipeg, MB, Canada
| | - Andrea Schertzer
- Public Health Agency of Canada, Centre for Immunization and Respiratory Infectious Diseases, Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | - Mohamed Djebli
- Public Health Agency of Canada, Centre for Immunization and Respiratory Infectious Diseases, Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | - Femi F Oloye
- Toxicology Program, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada.
- Department of Chemistry, Division of Physical and Computational Sciences, University of Pittsburgh at Bradford, Bradford, United States.
| | - Yuwei Xie
- Toxicology Program, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada
| | - Mohsen Asadi
- Department of Civil, Geological and Environmental Engineering, College of Engineering, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada
| | - Jenna Cantin
- Toxicology Program, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada
| | - Xia Pu
- Toxicology Program, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada
| | - Charles A Osunla
- Toxicology Program, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada
| | - Markus Brinkmann
- Toxicology Program, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada
- School of Environment and Sustainability, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada
| | - Kerry N McPhedran
- Department of Civil, Geological and Environmental Engineering, College of Engineering, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada
- Global Institute for Water Security, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada
| | - Mark R Servos
- Department of Biology, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON, Canada
| | - John P Giesy
- Toxicology Program, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada.
- Department of Veterinary Biomedical Sciences, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada.
- Department of Environmental Sciences, Baylor University, Waco, TX, USA.
- Department of Zoology and Center for Integrative Toxicology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA.
| | - Chand Mangat
- Public Health Agency of Canada, National Microbiology Laboratory, One Health Division, Winnipeg, MB, Canada
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5
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Asadi M, Hamilton D, Shomachuk C, Oloye FF, De Lange C, Pu X, Osunla CA, Cantin J, El-Baroudy S, Mejia EM, Gregorchuk B, Becker MG, Mangat C, Brinkmann M, Jones PD, Giesy JP, McPhedran KN. Assessment of rapid wastewater surveillance for determination of communicable disease spread in municipalities. Sci Total Environ 2023; 901:166541. [PMID: 37625717 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.166541] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/29/2023] [Revised: 08/02/2023] [Accepted: 08/22/2023] [Indexed: 08/27/2023]
Abstract
Wastewater surveillance (WS) helps to improve the understanding of the spread of communicable diseases in communities. WS can assist public health decision-makers in the design and implementation of timely mitigation measures. There is an increased need to use reliable, cost-effective, simple, and rapid WS systems, given traditional analytical (or 'gold-standard') programs are instrument/time-intensive, and dependent on highly skilled personnel. This study investigated the application of the portable GeneXpert platform for WS of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), influenza A virus (IAV), influenza B virus (IBV), and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). The GeneXpert system with the Xpert Xpress-SARS-CoV-2/Flu/RSV test kit uses reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) to analyze wastewater samples. From September 2022 through January 2023, wastewater samples were collected from the influents of municipal wastewater treatment plants (MWTPs) of Saskatoon, Prince Albert, and North Battleford in the province of Saskatchewan, Canada. Both raw and concentrated wastewater samples were subjected to the GeneXpert analysis. Results showed that the Saskatoon wastewater viral loads were significantly correlated to Saskatchewan's influenza and COVID-19 clinical cases, with a lead time of 10 days for IAV and a lag time of 4 days for SARS-CoV-2. Additionally, the GeneXpert analysis of the three cities' wastewater samples showed that the raw WS could capture the dynamics of SARS-CoV-2 and IAV due to their correlation with concentrated WS. Interestingly, IBV loads were not detected in any wastewater samples, while the Saskatoon and Prince Albert wastewater samples collected following the 2023 holiday season (end of December and beginning of January) were positive for RSV. This study indicates that the GeneXpert has excellent potential for use in the development of an early warning system for transmissible disease in municipalities and limited-resource communities while simultaneously providing stakeholders with an efficient WS methodology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mohsen Asadi
- Department of Civil, Geological and Environmental Engineering, College of Engineering, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada; Toxicology Centre, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada
| | - Daniel Hamilton
- Department of Civil, Geological and Environmental Engineering, College of Engineering, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada
| | - Corwyn Shomachuk
- Department of Civil, Geological and Environmental Engineering, College of Engineering, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada
| | - Femi F Oloye
- Toxicology Centre, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada
| | - Chantel De Lange
- Toxicology Centre, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada
| | - Xia Pu
- Toxicology Centre, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada
| | - Charles A Osunla
- Toxicology Centre, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada
| | - Jenna Cantin
- Toxicology Centre, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada
| | - Seba El-Baroudy
- Toxicology Centre, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada
| | - Edgard M Mejia
- JC Wilt Infectious Diseases Research Centre, National Microbiology Laboratory, Public Health Agency of Canada, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
| | - Branden Gregorchuk
- JC Wilt Infectious Diseases Research Centre, National Microbiology Laboratory, Public Health Agency of Canada, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
| | - Michael G Becker
- JC Wilt Infectious Diseases Research Centre, National Microbiology Laboratory, Public Health Agency of Canada, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
| | - Chand Mangat
- Wastewater Surveillance Unit, On-Health Division, National Microbiology Laboratory - Winnipeg, Public Health Agency of Canada, Canada
| | - Markus Brinkmann
- Toxicology Centre, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada; Global Institute for Water Security, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada; School of Environment and Sustainability, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada
| | - Paul D Jones
- Toxicology Centre, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada; School of Environment and Sustainability, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada
| | - John P Giesy
- Toxicology Centre, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada; Department of Veterinary Biomedical Sciences, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada; Department of Environmental Sciences, Baylor University, Waco, TX, USA; Department of Integrative Biology and Center for Integrative Toxicology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA
| | - Kerry N McPhedran
- Department of Civil, Geological and Environmental Engineering, College of Engineering, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada; Global Institute for Water Security, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada.
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Asadi M, Oloye FF, Xie Y, Cantin J, Challis JK, McPhedran KN, Yusuf W, Champredon D, Xia P, De Lange C, El-Baroudy S, Servos MR, Jones PD, Giesy JP, Brinkmann M. A wastewater-based risk index for SARS-CoV-2 infections among three cities on the Canadian Prairie. Sci Total Environ 2023; 876:162800. [PMID: 36914129 PMCID: PMC10008033 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.162800] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/19/2022] [Revised: 03/06/2023] [Accepted: 03/07/2023] [Indexed: 06/01/2023]
Abstract
Wastewater surveillance (WWS) is useful to better understand the spreading of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in communities, which can help design and implement suitable mitigation measures. The main objective of this study was to develop the Wastewater Viral Load Risk Index (WWVLRI) for three Saskatchewan cities to offer a simple metric to interpret WWS. The index was developed by considering relationships between reproduction number, clinical data, daily per capita concentrations of virus particles in wastewater, and weekly viral load change rate. Trends of daily per capita concentrations of SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater for Saskatoon, Prince Albert, and North Battleford were similar during the pandemic, suggesting that per capita viral load can be useful to quantitatively compare wastewater signals among cities and develop an effective and comprehensible WWVLRI. The effective reproduction number (Rt) and the daily per capita efficiency adjusted viral load thresholds of 85 × 106 and 200 × 106 N2 gene counts (gc)/population day (pd) were determined. These values with rates of change were used to categorize the potential for COVID-19 outbreaks and subsequent declines. The weekly average was considered 'low risk' when the per capita viral load was 85 × 106 N2 gc/pd. A 'medium risk' occurs when the per capita copies were between 85 × 106 and 200 × 106 N2 gc/pd. with a rate of change <100 %. The start of an outbreak is indicated by a 'medium-high' risk classification when the week-over-week rate of change was >100 %, and the absolute magnitude of concentrations of viral particles was >85 × 106 N2 gc/pd. Lastly, a 'high risk' occurs when the viral load exceeds 200 × 106 N2 gc/pd. This methodology provides a valuable resource for decision-makers and health authorities, specifically given the limitation of COVID-19 surveillance based on clinical data.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mohsen Asadi
- Department of Civil, Geological and Environmental Engineering, College of Engineering, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada; Toxicology Centre, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada.
| | - Femi F Oloye
- Toxicology Centre, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada.
| | - Yuwei Xie
- Toxicology Centre, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada
| | - Jenna Cantin
- Toxicology Centre, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada
| | | | - Kerry N McPhedran
- Department of Civil, Geological and Environmental Engineering, College of Engineering, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada; Global Institute for Water Security, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada
| | - Warsame Yusuf
- Public Health Risk Division, National Microbiology Laboratory, Public Health Agency of Canada, Guelph, Ontario, Canada
| | - David Champredon
- Public Health Risk Division, National Microbiology Laboratory, Public Health Agency of Canada, Guelph, Ontario, Canada
| | - Pu Xia
- Toxicology Centre, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada
| | - Chantel De Lange
- Toxicology Centre, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada
| | - Seba El-Baroudy
- Toxicology Centre, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada
| | - Mark R Servos
- Department of Biology, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada
| | - Paul D Jones
- Toxicology Centre, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada; School of Environment and Sustainability, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada
| | - John P Giesy
- Toxicology Centre, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada; Department of Veterinary Biomedical Sciences, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada; Department of Environmental Sciences, Baylor University, Waco, TX, USA; Department of Integrative Biology and Center for Integrative Toxicology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA.
| | - Markus Brinkmann
- Toxicology Centre, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada; Global Institute for Water Security, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada; School of Environment and Sustainability, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada.
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7
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Oloye FF, Xie Y, Challis JK, Femi-Oloye OP, Brinkmann M, McPhedran KN, Jones PD, Servos MR, Giesy JP. Understanding common population markers for SARS-CoV-2 RNA normalization in wastewater - A review. Chemosphere 2023; 333:138682. [PMID: 37201600 DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2023.138682] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/14/2022] [Revised: 02/14/2023] [Accepted: 04/11/2023] [Indexed: 05/20/2023]
Abstract
Wastewater monitoring and epidemiology have seen renewed interest during the recent COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, there is an increasing need to normalize wastewater-derived viral loads in local populations. Chemical tracers, both exogenous and endogenous compounds, have proven to be more stable and reliable for normalization than biological indicators. However, differing instrumentation and extraction methods can make it difficult to compare results. This review examines current extraction and quantification methods for ten common population indicators: creatinine, coprostanol, nicotine, cotinine, sucralose, acesulfame, androstenedione 5-hydroindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA), caffeine, and 1,7-dimethyluric acid. Some wastewater parameters such as ammonia, total nitrogen, total phosphorus, and daily flowrate were also evaluated. The analytical methods included direct injection, dilute and shoot, liquid/liquid, and solid phase extraction (SPE). Creatine, acesulfame, nicotine, 5-HIAA and androstenedione have been analysed by direct injection into LC-MS; however, most authors prefer to include SPE steps to avoid matrix effects. Both LC-MS and GC-MS have been successfully used to quantify coprostanol in wastewater, and the other selected indicators have been quantified successfully with LC-MS. Acidification to stabilize the sample before freezing to maintain the integrity of samples has been reported to be beneficial. However, there are arguments both for and against working at acidic pHs. Wastewater parameters mentioned earlier are quick and easy to quantify, but the data does not always represent the human population effectively. A preference for population indicators originating solely from humans is apparent. This review summarises methods employed for chemical indicators in wastewater, provides a basis for choosing an appropriate extraction and analysis method, and highlights the utility of accurate chemical tracer data for wastewater-based epidemiology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Femi F Oloye
- Toxicology Centre, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada.
| | - Yuwei Xie
- Toxicology Centre, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada
| | | | | | - Markus Brinkmann
- Toxicology Centre, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada; Global Institute for Water Security, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada; School of Environment and Sustainability, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada
| | - Kerry N McPhedran
- School of Environment and Sustainability, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada; Department of Civil, Geological and Environmental Engineering, College of Engineering, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada
| | - Paul D Jones
- Toxicology Centre, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada; Global Institute for Water Security, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada; School of Environment and Sustainability, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada
| | - Mark R Servos
- Department of Biology, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada
| | - John P Giesy
- Toxicology Centre, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada; Department of Environmental Sciences, Baylor University, Waco, TX, USA; Department of Integrative Biology and Center for Integrative Toxicology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, 48824, USA.
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8
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Minaei S, Benis KZ, McPhedran KN, Soltan J. Evaluation of a ZnCl2-modified biochar derived from activated sludge biomass for adsorption of sulfamethoxazole. Chem Eng Res Des 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cherd.2022.12.038] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
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9
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Xie Y, Challis JK, Oloye FF, Asadi M, Cantin J, Brinkmann M, McPhedran KN, Hogan N, Sadowski M, Jones PD, Landgraff C, Mangat C, Servos MR, Giesy JP. RNA in Municipal Wastewater Reveals Magnitudes of COVID-19 Outbreaks across Four Waves Driven by SARS-CoV-2 Variants of Concern. ACS ES T Water 2022; 2:1852-1862. [PMID: 37552734 PMCID: PMC8887651 DOI: 10.1021/acsestwater.1c00349] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/19/2021] [Revised: 02/10/2022] [Accepted: 02/11/2022] [Indexed: 05/07/2023]
Abstract
There are no standardized protocols for quantifying severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in wastewater to date, especially for population normalization. Here, a pipeline was developed, applied, and assessed to quantify SARS-CoV-2 and key variants of concern (VOCs) RNA in wastewater at Saskatoon, Canada. Normalization approaches using recovery ratio and extraction efficiency, wastewater parameters, or population indicators were assessed by comparing to daily numbers of new cases. Viral load was positively correlated with daily new cases reported in the sewershed. Wastewater surveillance (WS) had a lead time of approximately 7 days, which indicated surges in the number of new cases. WS revealed the variant α and δ driving the third and fourth wave, respectively. The adjustment with the recovery ratio and extraction efficiency improved the correlation between viral load and daily new cases. Normalization of viral concentration to concentrations of the artificial sweetener acesulfame K improved the trend of viral load during the Christmas and New Year holidays when populations were dynamic and variable. Acesulfame K performed better than pepper mild mottle virus, creatinine, and ammonia for population normalization. Hence, quality controls to characterize recovery ratios and extraction efficiencies and population normalization with acesulfame are promising for precise WS programs supporting decision-making in public health.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuwei Xie
- Toxicology Centre, University of
Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan S7N 5B3,
Canada
| | - Jonathan K. Challis
- Toxicology Centre, University of
Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan S7N 5B3,
Canada
| | - Femi F. Oloye
- Toxicology Centre, University of
Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan S7N 5B3,
Canada
| | - Mohsen Asadi
- Department of Civil, Geological and Environmental
Engineering, College of Engineering, University of
Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan S7N 5A9,
Canada
| | - Jenna Cantin
- Toxicology Centre, University of
Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan S7N 5B3,
Canada
| | - Markus Brinkmann
- Toxicology Centre, University of
Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan S7N 5B3,
Canada
- School of Environment and Sustainability,
University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan S7N 5B3,
Canada
- Global Institute for Water Security,
University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan S7N 3H5,
Canada
| | - Kerry N. McPhedran
- Department of Civil, Geological and Environmental
Engineering, College of Engineering, University of
Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan S7N 5A9,
Canada
- Global Institute for Water Security,
University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan S7N 3H5,
Canada
| | - Natacha Hogan
- Toxicology Centre, University of
Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan S7N 5B3,
Canada
- College of Agriculture and Bioresources, Department of
Animal and Poultry Sciences, University of Saskatchewan,
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan S7N 5A8, Canada
| | - Mike Sadowski
- Wastewater Treatment Plant, Saskatoon Water Department,
City of Saskatoon, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan S7M 1X5,
Canada
| | - Paul D. Jones
- Toxicology Centre, University of
Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan S7N 5B3,
Canada
- School of Environment and Sustainability,
University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan S7N 5B3,
Canada
| | - Chrystal Landgraff
- Division of Enteric Diseases, National Microbiology
Laboratory, Public Health Agency of Canada, Winnipeg, Manitoba
R3E 3R2, Canada
- Food Science Department, University of
Guelph, Guelph, Ontario N1G 2W1, Canada
| | - Chand Mangat
- Antimicrobial Resistance and Nosocomial Infections,
National Microbiology Laboratory, Public Health Agency of
Canada, Winnipeg, Manitoba R3E 3R2, Canada
| | - Mark R. Servos
- Department of Biology, University of
Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1, Canada
| | - John P. Giesy
- Toxicology Centre, University of
Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan S7N 5B3,
Canada
- Department of Veterinary Biomedical Sciences,
University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan S7N 5B4,
Canada
- Department of Environmental Sciences,
Baylor University, Waco, Texas 76706, United
States
- Department of Zoology and Center for Integrative
Toxicology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan
48824, United States
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10
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Oloye FF, Xie Y, Asadi M, Cantin J, Challis JK, Brinkmann M, McPhedran KN, Kristian K, Keller M, Sadowski M, Jones PD, Landgraff C, Mangat C, Fuzzen M, Servos MR, Giesy JP. Rapid transition between SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern Delta and Omicron detected by monitoring municipal wastewater from three Canadian cities. Sci Total Environ 2022; 841:156741. [PMID: 35716745 PMCID: PMC9212401 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.156741] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/09/2022] [Revised: 06/10/2022] [Accepted: 06/13/2022] [Indexed: 05/21/2023]
Abstract
Monitoring the communal incidence of COVID-19 is important for both government and residents of an area to make informed decisions. However, continuous reliance on one means of monitoring might not be accurate because of biases introduced by government policies or behaviours of residents. Wastewater surveillance was employed to monitor concentrations of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in raw influent wastewater from wastewater treatment plants serving three Canadian Prairie cities with different population sizes. Data obtained from wastewater are not directly influenced by government regulations or behaviours of individuals. The means of three weekly samples collected using 24 h composite auto-samplers were determined. Viral loads were determined by RT-qPCR, and whole-genome sequencing was used to charaterize variants of concern (VOC). The dominant VOCs in the three cities were the same but with different proportions of sub-lineages. Sub-lineages of Delta were AY.12, AY.25, AY.27 and AY.93 in 2021, while the major sub-lineage of Omicron was BA.1 in January 2022, and BA.2 subsequently became a trace-level sub-variant then the predominant VOC. When each VOC was first detected varied among cities; However, Saskatoon, with the largest population, was always the first to present new VOCs. Viral loads varied among cities, but there was no direct correlation with population size, possibly because of differences in flow regimes. Population is one of the factors that affects trends in onset and development of local outbreaks during the pandemic. This might be due to demography or the fact that larger populations had greater potential for inter- and intra-country migration. Hence, wastewater surveillance data from larger cities can typically be used to indicate what to expect in smaller communities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Femi F Oloye
- Toxicology Centre, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada.
| | - Yuwei Xie
- Toxicology Centre, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada.
| | - Mohsen Asadi
- Department of Civil, Geological and Environmental Engineering, College of Engineering, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada
| | - Jenna Cantin
- Toxicology Centre, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada
| | - Jonathan K Challis
- Lethbridge Research and Development Centre, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada
| | - Markus Brinkmann
- Toxicology Centre, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada; School of Environment and Sustainability, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada; Global Institute for Water Security, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada
| | - Kerry N McPhedran
- Department of Civil, Geological and Environmental Engineering, College of Engineering, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada
| | - Kevin Kristian
- Wastewater Treatment Plant, Public Work Department, City of Prince Albert, Prince Albert, SK, Canada
| | - Mark Keller
- Wastewater Treatment Plant, City Operations, City of North Battleford, North Battleford, SK, Canada
| | - Mike Sadowski
- Wastewater Treatment Plant, Saskatoon Water Department, City of Saskatoon, Saskatoon, SK, Canada
| | - Paul D Jones
- Toxicology Centre, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada; Lethbridge Research and Development Centre, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada
| | - Chrystal Landgraff
- Division of Enteric Diseases, National Microbiology Laboratory, Public Health Agency of Canada, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
| | - Chand Mangat
- Wastewater Surveillance Unit, National Microbiology Laboratory Winnipeg, Public Health Agency of Canada, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
| | - Meghan Fuzzen
- Department of Biology, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada
| | - Mark R Servos
- Department of Biology, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada
| | - John P Giesy
- Toxicology Centre, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada; Department of Veterinary Biomedical Sciences, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada; Department of Environmental Sciences, Baylor University, Waco, TX, USA; Department of Zoology and Center for Integrative Toxicology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA.
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11
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Oloye FF, Xie Y, Asadi M, Cantin J, Challis JK, Brinkmann M, McPhedran KN, Kristian K, Keller M, Sadowski M, Jones PD, Landgraff C, Mangat C, Fuzzen M, Servos MR, Giesy JP. Rapid transition between SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern Delta and Omicron detected by monitoring municipal wastewater from three Canadian cities. Sci Total Environ 2022. [PMID: 35716745 PMCID: PMC8887651 DOI: 10.1021/acsestwater.1c00349&ref=pdf] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/14/2023]
Abstract
Monitoring the communal incidence of COVID-19 is important for both government and residents of an area to make informed decisions. However, continuous reliance on one means of monitoring might not be accurate because of biases introduced by government policies or behaviours of residents. Wastewater surveillance was employed to monitor concentrations of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in raw influent wastewater from wastewater treatment plants serving three Canadian Prairie cities with different population sizes. Data obtained from wastewater are not directly influenced by government regulations or behaviours of individuals. The means of three weekly samples collected using 24 h composite auto-samplers were determined. Viral loads were determined by RT-qPCR, and whole-genome sequencing was used to charaterize variants of concern (VOC). The dominant VOCs in the three cities were the same but with different proportions of sub-lineages. Sub-lineages of Delta were AY.12, AY.25, AY.27 and AY.93 in 2021, while the major sub-lineage of Omicron was BA.1 in January 2022, and BA.2 subsequently became a trace-level sub-variant then the predominant VOC. When each VOC was first detected varied among cities; However, Saskatoon, with the largest population, was always the first to present new VOCs. Viral loads varied among cities, but there was no direct correlation with population size, possibly because of differences in flow regimes. Population is one of the factors that affects trends in onset and development of local outbreaks during the pandemic. This might be due to demography or the fact that larger populations had greater potential for inter- and intra-country migration. Hence, wastewater surveillance data from larger cities can typically be used to indicate what to expect in smaller communities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Femi F Oloye
- Toxicology Centre, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada.
| | - Yuwei Xie
- Toxicology Centre, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada.
| | - Mohsen Asadi
- Department of Civil, Geological and Environmental Engineering, College of Engineering, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada
| | - Jenna Cantin
- Toxicology Centre, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada
| | - Jonathan K Challis
- Lethbridge Research and Development Centre, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada
| | - Markus Brinkmann
- Toxicology Centre, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada; School of Environment and Sustainability, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada; Global Institute for Water Security, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada
| | - Kerry N McPhedran
- Department of Civil, Geological and Environmental Engineering, College of Engineering, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada
| | - Kevin Kristian
- Wastewater Treatment Plant, Public Work Department, City of Prince Albert, Prince Albert, SK, Canada
| | - Mark Keller
- Wastewater Treatment Plant, City Operations, City of North Battleford, North Battleford, SK, Canada
| | - Mike Sadowski
- Wastewater Treatment Plant, Saskatoon Water Department, City of Saskatoon, Saskatoon, SK, Canada
| | - Paul D Jones
- Toxicology Centre, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada; Lethbridge Research and Development Centre, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada
| | - Chrystal Landgraff
- Division of Enteric Diseases, National Microbiology Laboratory, Public Health Agency of Canada, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
| | - Chand Mangat
- Wastewater Surveillance Unit, National Microbiology Laboratory Winnipeg, Public Health Agency of Canada, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
| | - Meghan Fuzzen
- Department of Biology, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada
| | - Mark R Servos
- Department of Biology, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada
| | - John P Giesy
- Toxicology Centre, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada; Department of Veterinary Biomedical Sciences, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada; Department of Environmental Sciences, Baylor University, Waco, TX, USA; Department of Zoology and Center for Integrative Toxicology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA.
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12
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Xie Y, Challis JK, Oloye FF, Asadi M, Cantin J, Brinkmann M, McPhedran KN, Hogan N, Sadowski M, Jones PD, Landgraff C, Mangat C, Servos MR, Giesy JP. RNA in Municipal Wastewater Reveals Magnitudes of COVID-19 Outbreaks across
Four Waves Driven by SARS-CoV-2 Variants of Concern. ACS ES T Water 2022. [PMCID: PMC8887651 DOI: 10.1021/acsestwater.1c00349&ref=pdf] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/14/2023]
Abstract
![]()
There are no standardized protocols for quantifying severe acute respiratory syndrome
coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in wastewater to date, especially for population
normalization. Here, a pipeline was developed, applied, and assessed to quantify
SARS-CoV-2 and key variants of concern (VOCs) RNA in wastewater at Saskatoon, Canada.
Normalization approaches using recovery ratio and extraction efficiency, wastewater
parameters, or population indicators were assessed by comparing to daily numbers of new
cases. Viral load was positively correlated with daily new cases reported in the
sewershed. Wastewater surveillance (WS) had a lead time of approximately 7 days, which
indicated surges in the number of new cases. WS revealed the variant α and δ
driving the third and fourth wave, respectively. The adjustment with the recovery ratio
and extraction efficiency improved the correlation between viral load and daily new
cases. Normalization of viral concentration to concentrations of the artificial
sweetener acesulfame K improved the trend of viral load during the Christmas and New
Year holidays when populations were dynamic and variable. Acesulfame K performed better
than pepper mild mottle virus, creatinine, and ammonia for population normalization.
Hence, quality controls to characterize recovery ratios and extraction efficiencies and
population normalization with acesulfame are promising for precise WS programs
supporting decision-making in public health. Wastewater surveillance gave early warnings
of four waves
of COVID-19. Quality controls and normalization with acesulfame K
significantly improved the accuracy of the wastewater-based epidemiology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuwei Xie
- Toxicology Centre, University of
Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan S7N 5B3,
Canada
| | - Jonathan K. Challis
- Toxicology Centre, University of
Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan S7N 5B3,
Canada
| | - Femi F. Oloye
- Toxicology Centre, University of
Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan S7N 5B3,
Canada
| | - Mohsen Asadi
- Department of Civil, Geological and Environmental
Engineering, College of Engineering, University of
Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan S7N 5A9,
Canada
| | - Jenna Cantin
- Toxicology Centre, University of
Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan S7N 5B3,
Canada
| | - Markus Brinkmann
- Toxicology Centre, University of
Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan S7N 5B3,
Canada
- School of Environment and Sustainability,
University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan S7N 5B3,
Canada
- Global Institute for Water Security,
University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan S7N 3H5,
Canada
| | - Kerry N. McPhedran
- Department of Civil, Geological and Environmental
Engineering, College of Engineering, University of
Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan S7N 5A9,
Canada
- Global Institute for Water Security,
University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan S7N 3H5,
Canada
| | - Natacha Hogan
- Toxicology Centre, University of
Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan S7N 5B3,
Canada
- College of Agriculture and Bioresources, Department of
Animal and Poultry Sciences, University of Saskatchewan,
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan S7N 5A8, Canada
| | - Mike Sadowski
- Wastewater Treatment Plant, Saskatoon Water Department,
City of Saskatoon, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan S7M 1X5,
Canada
| | - Paul D. Jones
- Toxicology Centre, University of
Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan S7N 5B3,
Canada
- School of Environment and Sustainability,
University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan S7N 5B3,
Canada
| | - Chrystal Landgraff
- Division of Enteric Diseases, National Microbiology
Laboratory, Public Health Agency of Canada, Winnipeg, Manitoba
R3E 3R2, Canada
- Food Science Department, University of
Guelph, Guelph, Ontario N1G 2W1, Canada
| | - Chand Mangat
- Antimicrobial Resistance and Nosocomial Infections,
National Microbiology Laboratory, Public Health Agency of
Canada, Winnipeg, Manitoba R3E 3R2, Canada
| | - Mark R. Servos
- Department of Biology, University of
Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1, Canada
| | - John P. Giesy
- Toxicology Centre, University of
Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan S7N 5B3,
Canada
- Department of Veterinary Biomedical Sciences,
University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan S7N 5B4,
Canada
- Department of Environmental Sciences,
Baylor University, Waco, Texas 76706, United
States
- Department of Zoology and Center for Integrative
Toxicology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan
48824, United States
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13
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Zoroufchi Benis K, McPhedran KN, Soltan J. Selenium removal from water using adsorbents: A critical review. J Hazard Mater 2022; 424:127603. [PMID: 34772553 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2021.127603] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/24/2021] [Revised: 10/05/2021] [Accepted: 10/23/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Selenium (Se) has become an increasingly serious water contamination concern worldwide. It is an essential micronutrient for humans and animals, however, can be extremely toxic if taken in excess. Sorption can be an effective treatment for Se removal from a wide range of water matrices. However, despite the synthesis and application of numerous adsorbents for remediation of aqueous Se, there has been no comprehensive review of the sorption capacities of various natural and synthesized sorbents. Herein, literature from 2010 to 2021 considering Se remediation using 112 adsorbents has been critically reviewed and presented in several comprehensive tables including: clay minerals and waste materials (presented in Table 1); zero-valent iron, iron oxides, and binary iron-based adsorbents (Table 2); other metals-based adsorbents (Table 3); carbon-based adsorbents (Table 4); and other adsorbents (Table 5). Each of these tables, and their relevant sections, summarizes preparation/modification methods, sorption capacities of various Se adsorbents, and proposed model/mechanisms of adsorption. Furthermore, future perspectives have been provided to assist in filling noted research gaps for the development of efficient Se adsorbents for real-world applications. This review will help in preliminary screening of various sorbent media to set up Se treatment technologies for a variety of end-users worldwide.
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Affiliation(s)
- Khaled Zoroufchi Benis
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada; Global Institute for Water Security, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada
| | - Kerry N McPhedran
- Department of Civil, Geological & Environmental Engineering, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada; Global Institute for Water Security, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada.
| | - Jafar Soltan
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada; Global Institute for Water Security, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada
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14
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Zoroufchi Benis K, Motalebi Damuchali A, McPhedran KN, Soltan J. Treatment of aqueous arsenic - A review of biosorbent preparation methods. J Environ Manage 2020; 273:111126. [PMID: 32734895 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2020.111126] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/10/2020] [Revised: 06/08/2020] [Accepted: 07/22/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Arsenic (As) is a worldwide human health issue with the major exposure route being the consumption of As-contaminated drinking water. Sorption is considered to be an efficient treatment method, among other technologies, for As removal from various water and wastewater matrices. There are common commercially available sorbents, however, the use of locally or regionally available biomasses have recently been of interest as potentially cost-effective and environmentally friendly alternatives. Despite these benefits, untreated biomasses often show low sorption capacity, can be too fragile, and can lead to coloration of waters when used in treatment processes. Treatment methods of biomasses can include chemical processes using acid or alkaline solutions, developing of biomass composite by deposition of activating agents, and preparation of biochars. This review includes an overview of 53 recent studies that assess a variety of biomass modification methods meant to overcome these issues such as activation with acids or bases and biomass-based composites. Furthermore, future perspectives have been provided to assist in the further optimization of methods for biomass modifications to enhance their As sorption capacities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Khaled Zoroufchi Benis
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada
| | - Ali Motalebi Damuchali
- Department of Civil, Geological & Environmental Engineering, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada
| | - Kerry N McPhedran
- Department of Civil, Geological & Environmental Engineering, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada.
| | - Jafar Soltan
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada
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15
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Islam MS, McPhedran KN, Messele SA, Liu Y, Gamal El-Din M. Isotherm and kinetic studies on adsorption of oil sands process-affected water organic compounds using granular activated carbon. Chemosphere 2018; 202:716-725. [PMID: 29604558 DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2018.03.149] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/22/2017] [Revised: 03/20/2018] [Accepted: 03/21/2018] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
The production of oil from oil sands in northern Alberta has led to the generation of large volumes of oil sands process-affected water (OSPW) that was reported to be toxic to aquatic and other living organisms. The toxicity of OSPW has been attributed to the complex nature of OSPW matrix including the inorganic and organic compounds primarily naphthenic acids (NAs: CnH2n+ZOx). In the present study, granular activated carbon (GAC) adsorption was investigated for its potential use to treat raw and ozonated OSPW. The results indicated that NA species removal increased with carbon number (n) for a fixed Z number; however, the NA species removal decreased with Z number for a fixed carbon number. The maximum adsorption capacities obtained from Langmuir adsorption isotherm based on acid-extractable fraction (AEF) and NAs were 98.5 mg and 60.9 mg AEF/g GAC and 60 mg and 37 mg NA/g GAC for raw and ozonated OSPW, respectively. It was found that the Freundlich isotherm model best fits the AEF and NA equilibrium data (r2 ≥ 0.88). The adsorption kinetics showed that the pseudo-second order and intraparticle diffusion models were both appropriate in modeling the adsorption kinetics of AEF and NAs to GAC (r2 ≥ 0.97). Although pore diffusion was the rate limiting step, film diffusion was still significant for assessing the rate of diffusion of NAs. This study could be helpful to model, design and optimize the adsorption treatment technologies of OSPW and to assess the performance of other adsorbents.
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Affiliation(s)
- Md Shahinoor Islam
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 1H9, Canada
| | - Kerry N McPhedran
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 1H9, Canada
| | - Selamawit A Messele
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 1H9, Canada
| | - Yang Liu
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 1H9, Canada
| | - Mohamed Gamal El-Din
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 1H9, Canada.
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16
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Islam MS, Zhang Y, Dong S, McPhedran KN, Rashed EM, El-Shafei MM, Noureldin AM, Gamal El-Din M. Dynamics of microbial community structure and nutrient removal from an innovative side-stream enhanced biological phosphorus removal process. J Environ Manage 2017; 198:300-307. [PMID: 28477571 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2017.04.074] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/03/2016] [Revised: 04/18/2017] [Accepted: 04/24/2017] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
Biological phosphorous (P) and nitrogen (N) removal from municipal wastewater was studied using an innovative anoxic-aerobic-anaerobic side-stream treatment system. The impact of influent water quality including chemical oxygen demand (COD), ammonium and orthophosphate concentrations on the reactor performance was evaluated. The results showed the system was very effective at removing both COD (>88%) and NH4+-N (>96%) despite varying influent concentrations of COD, NH4+-N, and total PO43--P. In contrast, it was found that the removal of P was sensitive to influent NH4+-N and PO43--P concentrations. The maximum PO43--P removal of 79% was achieved with the lowest influent NH4+-N and PO43--P concentration. Quantitative PCR (qPCR) assays showed a high abundance and diversity of phosphate accumulating organisms (PAO), nitrifiers and denitrifiers. The MiSeq microbial community structure analysis showed that the Proteobacteria (especially β-Proteobacteria, and γ-Proteobacteria) were the dominant in all reactors. Further analysis of the bacteria indicated the presence of diverse PAO genera including Candidatus Accumulibacter phosphatis, Tetrasphaera, and Rhodocyclus, and the denitrifying PAO (DPAO) genus Dechloromonas. Interestingly, no glycogen accumulating organisms (GAOs) were detected in any of the reactors, suggesting the advantage of proposed process in term of PAO selection for enhanced P removal compared with conventional main-stream processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Md Shahinoor Islam
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
| | - Yanyan Zhang
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
| | - Shimiao Dong
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
| | - Kerry N McPhedran
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
| | - Ehab M Rashed
- Sanitary & Environmental Engineering, Cairo University, Giza, Egypt
| | - Maha M El-Shafei
- Housing and Building National Research Center(HBRC), Cairo, Egypt
| | | | - Mohamed Gamal El-Din
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
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Meshref MNA, Klamerth N, Islam MS, McPhedran KN, Gamal El-Din M. Understanding the similarities and differences between ozone and peroxone in the degradation of naphthenic acids: Comparative performance for potential treatment. Chemosphere 2017; 180:149-159. [PMID: 28402833 DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2017.03.113] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/20/2017] [Revised: 03/21/2017] [Accepted: 03/27/2017] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
Ozonation at high doses is a costly treatment for oil sands process-affected water (OSPW) naphthenic acids (NAs) degradation. To decrease costs and limit doses, different peroxone (hydrogen peroxide/ozone; H2O2:O3) processes using mild-ozone doses of 30 and 50 mg/L were investigated. The degradation efficiency of Ox-NAs (classical (O2-NAs) + oxidized NAs) improved from 58% at 30 mg/L ozone to 59%, 63% and 76% at peroxone (1:1), 50 mg/L ozone, and peroxone (1:2), respectively. Suppressing the hydroxyl radical (•OH) pathway by adding tert-butyl alcohol did significantly reduce the degradation in all treatments, while molecular ozone contribution was around 50% and 34% for O2-NAs and Ox-NAs, respectively. Structure reactivity toward degradation was observed with degradation increase for both O2-NAs and Ox-NAs with increase of both carbon (n) and hydrogen deficiency/or |-Z| numbers in all treatments. However, the combined effect of n and Z showed specific insights and differences between ozone and peroxone treatments. The degradation pathway for |-Z|≥10 isomers in ozone treatments through molecular ozone was significant compared to •OH. Though peroxone (1:2) highly reduced the fluorophore organics and toxicity to Vibrio fischeri, the best oxidant utilization in the degradation of O2-NAs (mg/L) per ozone dose (mg/L) was observed in the peroxone (1:1) (0.91) and 30 mg/L ozone treatments (0.92). At n = 9-11, peroxone (1:1) had similar or enhanced effect on the O2-NAs degradation compared to 50 mg/L ozone. Enhancing •OH pathway through peroxone versus ozone may be an effective OSPW treatment that will allow its safe release into receiving environments with marginal cost addition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mohamed N A Meshref
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, T6G 1H9, Canada
| | - Nikolaus Klamerth
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, T6G 1H9, Canada; Department of Hydrogeology, Freiberg University of Mining and Technology, Freiberg, Saxony, Germany
| | - Md Shahinoor Islam
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, T6G 1H9, Canada; Department of Chemical Engineering, Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, Dhaka, 1000, Bangladesh
| | - Kerry N McPhedran
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, T6G 1H9, Canada; Department of Civil, Geological and Environmental Engineering, College of Engineering, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, S7N 5A9, Canada
| | - Mohamed Gamal El-Din
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, T6G 1H9, Canada.
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18
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McPhedran KN, Grgicak‐Mannion A, Paterson G, Briggs T, Ciborowski JJH, Haffner GD, Drouillard KG. Assessment of hazard metrics for predicting field benthic invertebrate toxicity in the Detroit River, Ontario, Canada. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2017; 13:410-422. [PMID: 27070334 PMCID: PMC7165888 DOI: 10.1002/ieam.1785] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/02/2015] [Revised: 11/23/2015] [Accepted: 04/01/2016] [Indexed: 06/05/2023]
Abstract
Numerical sediment quality guidelines (SQGs) are frequently used to interpret site-specific sediment chemistry and predict potential toxicity to benthic communities. These SQGs are useful for a screening line of evidence (LOE) that can be combined with other LOEs in a full weight of evidence (WOE) assessment of impacted sites. Three common multichemical hazard quotient methods (probable effect concentration [PEC]-Qavg , PEC-Qmet , and PEC-Qsum ) and a novel (hazard score [HZD]) approach were used in conjunction with a consensus-based set of SQGs to evaluate the ability of different scoring metrics to predict the biological effects of sediment contamination under field conditions. Multivariate analyses were first used to categorize river sediments into distinct habitats based on a set of physicochemical parameters to include gravel, low and high flow sand, and silt. For high flow sand and gravel, no significant dose-response relationships between numerically dominant species and various toxicity metric scores were observed. Significant dose-response relationships were observed for chironomid abundances and toxicity scores in low flow sand and silt habitats. For silt habitats, the HZD scoring metric provided the best predictor of chironomid abundances compared to various PEC-Q methods according to goodness-of-fit tests. For low flow sand habitats, PEC-Qsum followed by HZD, provided the best predictors of chironomid abundance. Differences in apparent chironomid toxicity between the 2 habitats suggest habitat-specific differences in chemical bioavailability and indicator taxa sensitivity. Using an IBI method, the HZD, PEC-Qavg , and PEC-Qmet approaches provided reasonable correlations with calculated IBI values in both silt and low flow sand habitats but not for gravel or high flow sands. Computation differences between the various multi-chemical toxicity scoring metrics and how this contributes to bias in different estimates of chemical mixture toxicity scores are discussed and compared. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2017;13:410-422. © 2016 SETAC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kerry N McPhedran
- College of EngineeringUniversity of SaskatchewanSaskatoonSaskatchewanCanada
| | - Alice Grgicak‐Mannion
- Great Lakes Institute for Environmental ResearchUniversity of WindsorWindsorOntarioCanada
| | - Gord Paterson
- College of Environmental Science and ForestryState University of New YorkSyracuseNew YorkUSA
| | - Ted Briggs
- Ontario Ministry of the EnvironmentLondonOntarioCanada
| | - Jan JH Ciborowski
- Department of Biological SciencesUniversity of WindsorWindsorOntarioCanada
| | - G Douglas Haffner
- Great Lakes Institute for Environmental ResearchUniversity of WindsorWindsorOntarioCanada
| | - Ken G Drouillard
- Great Lakes Institute for Environmental ResearchUniversity of WindsorWindsorOntarioCanada
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19
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McPhedran KN, Seth R. Wastewater Colloidal Organic Carbon: Characterization of Filtration Fractions Using 1H NMR. Water Environ Res 2016; 88:308-317. [PMID: 27131054 DOI: 10.2175/106143016x14504669767931] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/05/2023]
Abstract
The current study separates colloidal organic carbon (COC) of municipal wastewater using membrane and ultrafiltration filters followed by characterization using 1H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and UV absorbance with the goal of determination of size-specific characteristics, which may be used to correlate contaminant partitioning to natural COC. Passing fractions included 49.7, 44.8, 39.3, and 33.1 mg/L COC for filter sizes 1.5 μm, 0.45 μm, 100 kDa, and 1 kDa, respectively. The methodology used for processing COC prior to 1H NMR characterization was novel and successful in concentrating COC without modification of structures, which is the general drawback of other separation techniques such as resin extractions. This concentration technique is quite simple (i.e., not dependent on specialized instrumentation) and allows much shorter NMR experimental durations saving time and cost of analysis. Further work using NMR techniques will allow for greater understanding of COC molecular characteristics and be valuable for use in predictive modeling improvements.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kerry N McPhedran
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Windsor, 401 Sunset Avenue, Windsor, Ontario, N9B 3P4, Canada
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20
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Huang R, McPhedran KN, Sun N, Chelme-Ayala P, Gamal El-Din M. Investigation of the impact of organic solvent type and solution pH on the extraction efficiency of naphthenic acids from oil sands process-affected water. Chemosphere 2016; 146:472-477. [PMID: 26741553 DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2015.12.054] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/23/2015] [Revised: 11/26/2015] [Accepted: 12/15/2015] [Indexed: 06/05/2023]
Abstract
Naphthenic acids (NAs) from oil sand process-affected water (OSPW) were liquid-liquid extracted using six organic solvents (n-pentane, n-hexane, cyclohexane, dichloromethane, ethyl ether, and ethyl acetate) at three pHs (2.0, 8.5, and 12.0). The NAs exist in ionic (ions) and non-ionic (molecules) forms in the water phase depending on their dissociation constants and the solution pH. Results showed the extractability of NA molecules depends on the solvent polarity and the extractability of NA ions on the water solubility in solvent. The organic solvent type and solution pH were found to not only impact the extracted amounts of each NA species, but also the NAs distribution in terms of molecule carbon number and hydrogen deficiency. Overall, it is concluded that ethyl ether can be used as an alternative to dichloromethane (DCM) given their similar extraction efficiencies and extracted NA profiles. This is important since DCM is known to have metabolic toxicity and transitioning to the safer ethyl ether would eliminate laboratory DCM exposures and risk to human health. Despite the higher extraction efficiency of NAs at pH 2.0, extraction at pH 12.0 could be useful for targeted extraction of low-concentration nonpolar organic compounds in OSPW. This knowledge may assist in the determination of the specific NAs species that are known to have chronic, sub-chronic and acute toxicity to various organisms, and the potential targeting of treatment to these NAs species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rongfu Huang
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, 7-285 Donadeo Innovation Centre for Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, T6G 1H9, Canada
| | - Kerry N McPhedran
- Department of Civil and Geological Engineering, College of Engineering, University of Saskatchewan, Engineering Building, 57 Campus Dr., Saskatoon, SK, S7N 5A9, Canada
| | - Nian Sun
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, 7-285 Donadeo Innovation Centre for Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, T6G 1H9, Canada
| | - Pamela Chelme-Ayala
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, 7-285 Donadeo Innovation Centre for Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, T6G 1H9, Canada
| | - Mohamed Gamal El-Din
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, 7-285 Donadeo Innovation Centre for Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, T6G 1H9, Canada.
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21
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Huang R, McPhedran KN, Yang L, El-Din MG. Characterization and distribution of metal and nonmetal elements in the Alberta oil sands region of Canada. Chemosphere 2016; 147:218-229. [PMID: 26766359 DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2015.12.099] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/20/2015] [Revised: 11/18/2015] [Accepted: 12/23/2015] [Indexed: 06/05/2023]
Abstract
This review covers the characterization and distribution of metals and nonmetals in the Alberta oil sands region (AOSR) of Canada. The development of the oil sands industry has resulted in the release of organic, metal and nonmetal contaminants via air and water to the AOSR. For air, studies have found that atmospheric deposition of metals in the AOSR decreased exponentially with distance from the industrial emission sources. For water, toxic metal concentrations often exceeded safe levels leading to the potential for negative impacts to the receiving aquatic environments. Interestingly, although atmospheric deposition, surface waters, fish tissues, and aquatic bird eggs exhibited increasing level of metals in the AOSR, reported results from river sediments showed no increases over time. This could be attributed to physical and/or chemical dynamics of the river system to transport metals to downstream. The monitoring of the airborne emissions of relevant nonmetals (nitrogen and sulphur species) was also considered over the AOSR. These species were found to be increasing along with the oil sands developments with the resultant depositions contributing to nitrogen and sulphur accumulations resulting in ecosystem acidification and eutrophication impacts. In addition to direct monitoring of metals/nonmetals, tracing of air emissions using isotopes was also discussed. Further investigation and characterization of metals/nonmetals emissions in the AOSR are needed to determine their impacts to the ecosystem and to assess the need for further treatment measures to limit their continued output into the receiving environments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rongfu Huang
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, T6G 2W2, Canada
| | - Kerry N McPhedran
- Department of Civil and Geological Engineering, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, S7N 5A9, Canada.
| | - Lingling Yang
- Division of Analytical and Environmental Toxicology, Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, T6G 2G3, Canada
| | - Mohamed Gamal El-Din
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, T6G 2W2, Canada
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22
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Islam MS, Zhang Y, McPhedran KN, Liu Y, Gamal El-Din M. Mechanistic investigation of industrial wastewater naphthenic acids removal using granular activated carbon (GAC) biofilm based processes. Sci Total Environ 2016; 541:238-246. [PMID: 26410699 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2015.09.091] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/10/2015] [Revised: 09/16/2015] [Accepted: 09/17/2015] [Indexed: 06/05/2023]
Abstract
Naphthenic acids (NAs) found in oil sands process-affected waters (OSPW) have known environmental toxicity and are resistant to conventional wastewater treatments. The granular activated carbon (GAC) biofilm treatment process has been shown to effectively treat OSPW NAs via combined adsorption/biodegradation processes despite the lack of research investigating their individual contributions. Presently, the NAs removals due to the individual processes of adsorption and biodegradation in OSPW bioreactors were determined using sodium azide to inhibit biodegradation. For raw OSPW, after 28 days biodegradation and adsorption contributed 14% and 63% of NA removal, respectively. For ozonated OSPW, biodegradation removed 18% of NAs while adsorption reduced NAs by 73%. Microbial community 454-pyrosequencing of bioreactor matrices indicated the importance of biodegradation given the diverse carbon degrading families including Acidobacteriaceae, Ectothiorhodospiraceae, and Comamonadaceae. Overall, results highlight the ability to determine specific processes of NAs removals in the combined treatment process in the presence of diverse bacteria metabolic groups found in GAC bioreactors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Md Shahinoor Islam
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2W2, Canada; Department of Chemical Engineering, Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, Dhaka 1000, Bangladesh
| | - Yanyan Zhang
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2W2, Canada
| | - Kerry N McPhedran
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2W2, Canada; Department of Civil and Geological Engineering, College of Engineering, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon S7N 5A9, Canada
| | - Yang Liu
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2W2, Canada.
| | - Mohamed Gamal El-Din
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2W2, Canada.
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23
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Huang R, McPhedran KN, Gamal El-Din M. Ultra Performance Liquid Chromatography Ion Mobility Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry Characterization of Naphthenic Acids Species from Oil Sands Process-Affected Water. Environ Sci Technol 2015; 49:11737-11745. [PMID: 26322530 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.5b03178] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/04/2023]
Abstract
Ultraperformance liquid chromatography ion mobility time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UPLC-IM-TOFMS), integrating traveling wave ion mobility spectrometry (TWIMS) with negative electrospray ionization (ESI) mode, was used to achieve two-dimensional (2D) separation (drift vs retention times) of naphthenic acids (NAs). Unprocessed and ozonated commercial NAs were used for method development. Only O2-NAs were found in unprocessed NAs with ozonation creating O3-NAs and O4-NAs. Unprocessed and ozonated oil sands process-affected waters (OSPW) were examined to validate the method for complex matrix NAs. Ozonation increased the x number for Ox-NAs (2 ≤ x ≤ 5) and also impacted the -Z number distribution. OSPW extracted using dichloromethane removed the potential for sample matrix impacts and was used for MS/MS NAs characterization. The Ox-NAs (2 ≤ x ≤ 6) were identified with O2-NAs separated into three clusters indicating isobaric and isomeric species. MS/MS was used to verify compounds, while also indicating the presence of CH3CH2S- NAs groups. This result may be useful for future studies of sulfur-NAs fate, toxicity, and treatment. Overall, the value-added information provided by UPLC-IM-TOFMS makes it a promising analytical technique for analysis of NAs in complex OSPW samples. Moreover, this methodology can be used for other matrices to investigate relative molecular sizes and to separate complex species (e.g., fatty acids, lipids), making it beneficial for environmental and bioanalytical applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rongfu Huang
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, 3-133 Markin/CNRL Natural Resources Engineering Facility, University of Alberta , Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2W2, Canada
| | - Kerry N McPhedran
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, 3-133 Markin/CNRL Natural Resources Engineering Facility, University of Alberta , Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2W2, Canada
| | - Mohamed Gamal El-Din
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, 3-133 Markin/CNRL Natural Resources Engineering Facility, University of Alberta , Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2W2, Canada
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Alpatova A, Meshref M, McPhedran KN, Gamal El-Din M. Composite polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) membrane impregnated with Fe2O3 nanoparticles and multiwalled carbon nanotubes for catalytic degradation of organic contaminants. J Memb Sci 2015. [DOI: 10.1016/j.memsci.2015.05.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 67] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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25
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Wang C, Alpatova A, McPhedran KN, Gamal El-Din M. Coagulation/flocculation process with polyaluminum chloride for the remediation of oil sands process-affected water: Performance and mechanism study. J Environ Manage 2015; 160:254-262. [PMID: 26119332 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2015.06.025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/26/2015] [Revised: 06/09/2015] [Accepted: 06/13/2015] [Indexed: 06/04/2023]
Abstract
This study investigated the application of polyaluminum chloride (PACl) for the treatment of the oil sands process-affected water (OSPW). These coagulants are commonly used in water treatment with the most effective species reported to be Al13. PACl with 83.6% Al13 was synthesized using the slow base titration method and compared with a commercially available PACl in terms of aluminum species distribution, coagulation/flocculation (CF) performance, floc morphology, and contaminant removal. Both coagulants were effective in removing suspended solids, achieving over 96% turbidity removal at all applied coagulant doses (0.5-3.0 mM Al). The removal efficiencies of metals varied among different metals depending on their pKa values with metal cations having pKa values (Fe, Al, Ga, and Ti) below OSPW pH of 6.9-8.1 (dose dependent) being removed by more than 90%, while cations with higher pKa values (K, Na, Ca, Mg and Ni) had removals of less than 40%. Naphthenic acids were not removed due to their low molecular weights, negative charges, and hydrophilic characteristics at the OSPW pH. At the highest applied coagulant dose of 3.0 mM Al, the synthetic PACl reduced Vibrio fischeri inhibition effect to 43.3 ± 3.0% from 49.5 ± 0.4% in raw OSPW. In contrast, no reduction of toxicity was found for OSPW treated with the commercial PACl. Based on water quality and floc analyses, the dominant CF mechanism for particle removal during OSPW treatment was considered to be enmeshment in the precipitates (i.e., sweep flocculation). Overall, the CF using synthesized PACl can be a valuable pretreatment process for OSPW to create wastewater that is more easily treated by downstream processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chengjin Wang
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2W2, Canada
| | - Alla Alpatova
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2W2, Canada
| | - Kerry N McPhedran
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2W2, Canada
| | - Mohamed Gamal El-Din
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2W2, Canada.
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26
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Zhang Y, McPhedran KN, Gamal El-Din M. Pseudomonads biodegradation of aromatic compounds in oil sands process-affected water. Sci Total Environ 2015; 521-522:59-67. [PMID: 25828413 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2015.03.068] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/26/2015] [Revised: 03/17/2015] [Accepted: 03/17/2015] [Indexed: 06/04/2023]
Abstract
Aromatic naphthenic acids (NAs) have been shown to be more toxic than the classical NAs found in oil sands process-affected water (OSPW). To reduce this toxicity, Pseudomonas fluorescens and Pseudomonas putida were used to determine their ability to biodegrade aromatic compounds including treatments considering the impacts of external carbon and iron addition. Results showed that with added carbon P. fluorescens and P. putida have the capability of biodegrading these aromatics. In the presence of external carbon, gene expression of a functional PAH-ring hydroxylating dioxygenase (PAH-RHDα) was determined through reverse transcription real-time PCR, suggesting active degradation of OSPW aromatic compounds. Although no significant classical NAs removal was observed during this process, toxicity was reduced by 49.3% under optimal conditions. OSPW toxicity was eliminated with the combination of ozonation at a dose of 80 mg/L followed by biodegradation, indicating that it is a promising combined OSPW treatment approach for the safe discharge to the aquatic environment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yanyan Zhang
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2W2, Canada
| | - Kerry N McPhedran
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2W2, Canada
| | - Mohamed Gamal El-Din
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2W2, Canada.
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27
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Huang R, Sun N, Chelme-Ayala P, McPhedran KN, Changalov M, Gamal El-Din M. Fractionation of oil sands-process affected water using pH-dependent extractions: a study of dissociation constants for naphthenic acids species. Chemosphere 2015; 127:291-6. [PMID: 25782756 DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2014.11.041] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/22/2014] [Revised: 11/08/2014] [Accepted: 11/16/2014] [Indexed: 05/24/2023]
Abstract
The fractionation of oil sands process-affected water (OSPW) via pH-dependent extractions was performed to quantitatively investigate naphthenic acids (NAs, CnH2n+ZO2) and oxidized NAs (Ox-NAs) species (CnH2n+ZO3 and CnH2n+ZO4) using ultra-performance liquid chromatography time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UPLC-TOFMS). A mathematical model was also developed to estimate the dissociation constant pKa for NAs species, considering the liquid-liquid extraction process and the aqueous layer acid-base equilibrium. This model provides estimated dissociation constants for compounds in water samples based on fractionation extraction and relative quantification. Overall, the sum of O2-, O3-, and O4-NAs species accounted for 33.6% of total extracted organic matter. Accumulative extracted masses at different pHs revealed that every oxygen atom added to NAs increases the pKa (i.e., O2-NAs<O3-NAs<O4-NAs), indicating that the additional O atoms exist as -OH in O3- and O4-NAs. Molecule electron-withdrawing groups such as double bonds and aromatic groups, as indicated by higher carbon and -Z number, may be responsible for the lower pKa of O2-, O3-, and O4-NAs. The model obtained estimated pKa values of 3.5 for O2-NAs, 4.8 for O3-NAs, and 6.8 for O4-NAs via nonlinear regression curve fittings. These pKa values are valuable physicochemical parameters for environmental engineering applications targeting OSPW NAs treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rongfu Huang
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, 3-133 Markin/CNRL Natural Resources Engineering Facility, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2W2, Canada
| | - Nian Sun
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, 3-133 Markin/CNRL Natural Resources Engineering Facility, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2W2, Canada
| | - Pamela Chelme-Ayala
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, 3-133 Markin/CNRL Natural Resources Engineering Facility, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2W2, Canada
| | - Kerry N McPhedran
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, 3-133 Markin/CNRL Natural Resources Engineering Facility, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2W2, Canada
| | - Mohamed Changalov
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, 3-133 Markin/CNRL Natural Resources Engineering Facility, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2W2, Canada
| | - Mohamed Gamal El-Din
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, 3-133 Markin/CNRL Natural Resources Engineering Facility, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2W2, Canada.
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28
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Chen Y, McPhedran KN, Perez-Estrada L, Gamal El-Din M. An omic approach for the identification of oil sands process-affected water compounds using multivariate statistical analysis of ultrahigh resolution mass spectrometry datasets. Sci Total Environ 2015; 511:230-237. [PMID: 25546461 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2014.12.045] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/06/2014] [Revised: 12/16/2014] [Accepted: 12/16/2014] [Indexed: 06/04/2023]
Abstract
Oil sands process-affected water (OSPW) is a major environmental issue due to its acute and chronic toxicity to aquatic life. Advanced oxidation processes are promising treatments to successfully degrade toxic OSPW compounds. This study applied high resolution mass spectrometry to detect over 1000 compounds in OSPW samples after treatments including general ozonation, and ozone with carbonate, tert-butyl-alcohol, carbonate/tert-butyl-alcohol, tetranitromethane, or iron. Hierarchal clustering analysis showed that samples clustered based on sampling time and principal component analysis corroborated these results while also providing information on significant markers responsible for the clustering. Some markers were uniquely present in certain treatment conditions, while others showed variable behaviors in two or more treatments due to the presence of scavengers/catalysts. This advanced approach to monitoring significant changes of markers by using multivariate analysis can be invaluable for future work on OSPW treatment by-products and their potential toxicity to receiving environment organisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuan Chen
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, 3-133 Markin/CNRL Natural Resources Engineering Facility, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2 W2, Canada
| | - Kerry N McPhedran
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, 3-133 Markin/CNRL Natural Resources Engineering Facility, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2 W2, Canada
| | - Leonidas Perez-Estrada
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, 3-133 Markin/CNRL Natural Resources Engineering Facility, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2 W2, Canada
| | - Mohamed Gamal El-Din
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, 3-133 Markin/CNRL Natural Resources Engineering Facility, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2 W2, Canada.
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Islam MS, Zhang Y, McPhedran KN, Liu Y, Gamal El-Din M. Granular activated carbon for simultaneous adsorption and biodegradation of toxic oil sands process-affected water organic compounds. J Environ Manage 2015; 152:49-57. [PMID: 25617868 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2015.01.020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/29/2014] [Revised: 01/08/2015] [Accepted: 01/14/2015] [Indexed: 06/04/2023]
Abstract
Naphthenic acids (NAs) released into oil sands process-affected water (OSPW) during bitumen processing in Northern Alberta are problematic for oil sands industries due to their toxicity in the environment and resistance to degradation during conventional wastewater treatment processes. Granular activated carbon (GAC) has shown to be an effective media in removing biopersistent organics from wastewater using a combination of adsorption and biodegradation removal mechanisms. A simultaneous GAC (0.4 g GAC/L) adsorption and biodegradation (combined treatment) study was used for the treatment of raw and ozonated OSPW. After 28 days of batch treatment, classical and oxidized NAs removals for raw OSPW were 93.3% and 73.7%, and for ozonated OSPW were 96.2% and 77.1%, respectively. Synergetic effects of the combined treatment process were observed in removals of COD, the acid extractable fraction, and oxidized NAs, which indicated enhanced biodegradation and bioregeneration in GAC biofilms. A bacteria copy number >10(8) copies/g GAC on GAC surfaces was found using quantitative real time polymerase chain reaction after treatment for both raw and ozonated OSPW. A Microtox(®) acute toxicity test (Vibrio fischeri) showed effective toxicity removal (>95.3%) for the combined treatments. Therefore, the simultaneous GAC adsorption and biodegradation treatment process is a promising technology for the elimination of toxic OSPW NAs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Md Shahinoor Islam
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2W2, Canada
| | - Yanyan Zhang
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2W2, Canada
| | - Kerry N McPhedran
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2W2, Canada
| | - Yang Liu
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2W2, Canada.
| | - Mohamed Gamal El-Din
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2W2, Canada.
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30
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Moustafa AMA, Huang J, McPhedran KN, Zeng H, El-Din MG. Probing the adsorption of weak acids on graphite using amplitude modulation-frequency modulation atomic force microscopy. Langmuir 2015; 31:3069-3075. [PMID: 25710305 DOI: 10.1021/la5048968] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/04/2023]
Abstract
Recent thermodynamics calculations and adsorption isotherms showed that the adsorption of a self-assembled layer (SAL) of ionized weak acids to carbon was attributed to the negatively charged hydrogen bonding (-CAHB), yet the direct visualization and characterization of this adsorption behavior have not been reported. Here, an amplitude modulation-frequency modulation atomic force microscopy (AM-FM AFM) technique was applied to discriminate the adsorption of decanoic acids (DA) on highly ordered pyrolytic graphite (HOPG). Thermodynamics calculations revealed that the adsorption of SAL was driven by the formation of -CAHB with negatively charged functional groups of HOPG. Multilayer adsorption could occur over the adsorbed ionized SAL, leading to the development of aggregates. AM-FM AFM imaging showed that the adsorption of the DA molecules forming aggregates occurred only for the HOPG-functionalized steps, while DA molecules were found to adsorb over the entire functionalized HOPG surface after water-plasma treatment, as evident from the frequency shifts identified in AFM images.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ahmed M A Moustafa
- †Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2W2, Canada
| | - Jun Huang
- ‡Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2V4, Canada
| | - Kerry N McPhedran
- †Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2W2, Canada
| | - Hongbo Zeng
- ‡Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2V4, Canada
| | - Mohamed Gamal El-Din
- †Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2W2, Canada
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31
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Klamerth N, Moreira J, Li C, Singh A, McPhedran KN, Chelme-Ayala P, Belosevic M, Gamal El-Din M. Effect of ozonation on the naphthenic acids' speciation and toxicity of pH-dependent organic extracts of oil sands process-affected water. Sci Total Environ 2015; 506-507:66-75. [PMID: 25460940 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2014.10.103] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/24/2014] [Revised: 10/22/2014] [Accepted: 10/28/2014] [Indexed: 06/04/2023]
Abstract
The presence of naphthenic acids (NAs) and other organic constituents in oil sands process-affected water (OSPW) stored in tailings ponds, poses a serious environmental threat due to their potential toxicity to aquatic organisms and wild life. In this work, four fractions of OSPW, extracted by dichloromethane at different pHs, were ozonated to determine the ozone impact on NAs degradation. Extracts distributions showed that high carbon number NAs (14-22) were associated with higher pH fractions (pH>7) and smaller carbon number NAs (7-13) with lower pH fractions (pH≤7). Extracts showed similar hydrogen deficiency (Z-number) patterns centered on Z=6. Analysis of the speciation of NAs and oxidized NAs in the four fractions showed that ozonation degraded most NAs (55% to 98%). Despite the high degradation levels, there was still significant toxicity of the fractions toward goldfish macrophages and measurable toxicity toward Vibrio fischeri. The toxicity of such a complex matrix as OSPW may be attributed to other organic compounds and degradation by-products not currently detected. Thus, there is a need to elucidate which compounds are responsible for the remaining OSPW toxicity and to determine if combined processes, such as ozonation followed by biological treatment, are able to completely detoxify OSPW. This work is taking the first steps into this direction, narrowing down the range of compounds which might be responsible for the toxicity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nikolaus Klamerth
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, 3-133 Markin/CNRL Natural Resources Engineering Facility, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2W2, Canada
| | - Jesús Moreira
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, 3-133 Markin/CNRL Natural Resources Engineering Facility, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2W2, Canada
| | - Chao Li
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, 3-133 Markin/CNRL Natural Resources Engineering Facility, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2W2, Canada; Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2E9, Canada
| | - Arvinder Singh
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, 3-133 Markin/CNRL Natural Resources Engineering Facility, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2W2, Canada; Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2E9, Canada
| | - Kerry N McPhedran
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, 3-133 Markin/CNRL Natural Resources Engineering Facility, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2W2, Canada
| | - Pamela Chelme-Ayala
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, 3-133 Markin/CNRL Natural Resources Engineering Facility, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2W2, Canada
| | - Miodrag Belosevic
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2E9, Canada
| | - Mohamed Gamal El-Din
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, 3-133 Markin/CNRL Natural Resources Engineering Facility, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2W2, Canada.
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Moustafa AMA, McPhedran KN, Moreira J, Gamal El-Din M. Investigation of mono/competitive adsorption of environmentally relevant ionized weak acids on graphite: impact of molecular properties and thermodynamics. Environ Sci Technol 2014; 48:14472-14480. [PMID: 25403017 DOI: 10.1021/es503458t] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/04/2023]
Abstract
The thermodynamics of adsorption and competitive interactions of five weak acids on a graphite surface was assessed in alkaline solutions. Adsorption of the acids in mono- and multicompound solutions followed their Freundlich isotherms which suggest a diversity of graphite adsorption sites as confirmed by the presence of carboxylic and phenolic groups observed on graphite surfaces. Thermodynamic calculations assigned the formation of the negatively charged assisted hydrogen bond (-CAHB) between ionized solutes and adsorbent surface groups as the possible adsorption mechanism. However, the similar pKa values of current acids resulted in comparable free energies for -CAHB formation (ΔG(-CAHB)) being less than solvation free energies (ΔGSolv). Thus, additional ΔG is supplemented by increased hydrophobicity due to proton exchange of ionized acids with water (ΔΔG Hydrophobicity). Adsorption capacities and competition coefficients indicated that ΔΔG Hydrophobicity values depend on the neutral and ionized acid Kow. Competitive adsorption implies that multilayer adsorption may occur via hydrophobic bonding with the CH3 ends of the self-assembled layer which affects the acid adsorption capacities in mixtures as compared to monocompound solutions. The determination of adsorption mechanisms will assist in understanding of the fate and bioavailability of emerging and classical weak acids released into natural waters.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ahmed M A Moustafa
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Alberta , Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2W2, Canada
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Sun N, Chelme-Ayala P, Klamerth N, McPhedran KN, Islam MS, Perez-Estrada L, Drzewicz P, Blunt BJ, Reichert M, Hagen M, Tierney KB, Belosevic M, Gamal El-Din M. Advanced analytical mass spectrometric techniques and bioassays to characterize untreated and ozonated oil sands process-affected water. Environ Sci Technol 2014; 48:11090-11099. [PMID: 25211339 DOI: 10.1021/es503082j] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/03/2023]
Abstract
Oil sands process-affected water (OSPW) is a toxic and poorly biodegradable mixture of sand, silt, heavy metals, and organics. In this study, qualitative and quantitative comparisons of naphthenic acids (NAs) were done using ultraperformance liquid chromatography time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UPLC TOF-MS), Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance (FT-ICR) MS, and ion mobility spectrometry (IMS). The unique combination of these analyses allowed for the determination and correlation of NAs, oxidized NAs, and heteroatom (sulfur or nitrogen) NAs. Despite its lower resolution, UPLC-TOF MS was shown to offer a comparable level of reliability and precision as the high resolution FT-ICR MS. Additionally, the impacts of ozonation (35 mg/L utilized ozone dose) and subsequent NAs degradation on OSPW toxicity were assessed via a collection of organisms and toxicity end points using Vibrio fischeri (nonspecific), specific fish macrophage antimicrobial responses, and fish olfactory responses. Fish macrophages exposed to ozonated OSPW for 1 week showed higher production of reactive oxygen and nitrogen intermediates; however, after 12 weeks the responses were reduced significantly. Fish olfactory tests suggested that OSPW interfered with their perception of odorants. Current results indicate that the quantification of NAs species, using novel analytical methods, can be combined with various toxicity methods to assess the efficiency of OSPW treatment processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nian Sun
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, 3-133 Markin/CNRL Natural Resources Engineering Facility, University of Alberta , Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2W2, Canada
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Islam MS, Dong T, McPhedran KN, Sheng Z, Zhang Y, Liu Y, Gamal El-Din M. Impact of ozonation pre-treatment of oil sands process-affected water on the operational performance of a GAC-fluidized bed biofilm reactor. Biodegradation 2014; 25:811-23. [DOI: 10.1007/s10532-014-9701-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/03/2014] [Accepted: 07/19/2014] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
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35
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McPhedran KN, Seth R, Drouillard KG. Evaluation of the gas stripping technique for calculation of Henry's law constants using the initial slope method for 1,2,4,5-tetrachlorobenzene, pentachlorobenzene, and hexachlorobenzene. Chemosphere 2013; 91:1648-1652. [PMID: 23352521 DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2012.12.017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/07/2012] [Revised: 11/29/2012] [Accepted: 12/01/2012] [Indexed: 06/01/2023]
Abstract
Henry's law constant (HLC) is an important factor used in environmental risk assessment and fate and transport models to describe mass transfer of chemical between water and air. HLCs and structure-property relationships were assessed for 1,2,4,5-tetrachlorobenzene (TeCB), pentachlorobenzene (PeCB), and hexachlorobenzene (HCB). HLCs were determined using the volatilization rate (kv) of sparged chemical at 25 °C. Despite the assumption that kv should be constant throughout the stripping duration, results indicated that kv decreased over time according to three separate slope regions. Results of ANCOVA indicate that kv is statistically different in the third slope region, which leads to the conclusion that use of the entire stripping data set would lead to biased HLCs. This decrease in kv may be attributed to desorption from sparger surfaces, which has not been considered widely in the literature. Statistical analysis was possible because of the robustness of the current experimental procedure which included numerous replications (15 total spargers) and extensive data points available to discern key slope changes. HLCs determined using the gas stripping technique were 57, 33, and 30 Pa m(3) mol(-1) for 1,2,4,5-TeCB, PeCB, and HCB, respectively. In comparison to literature values, current TeCB and HCB HLCs were within wide reference ranges spanning approximately an order of magnitude for each chemical. PeCB HLC of the current study was two times lower than the lowest reference data.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kerry N McPhedran
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Windsor, 401 Sunset Avenue, Windsor, Ontario, Canada N9B 3P4
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McPhedran KN, Seth R, Drouillard KG. Hydrophobic organic compound (HOC) partitioning behaviour to municipal wastewater colloidal organic carbon. Water Res 2013; 47:2222-2230. [PMID: 23473399 DOI: 10.1016/j.watres.2013.01.039] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/30/2012] [Revised: 01/19/2013] [Accepted: 01/21/2013] [Indexed: 06/01/2023]
Abstract
The sorption behaviour of hydrophobic organic compounds (HOCs) 1,2,4,5-tetrachlor-obenzene (TeCB), pentachlorobenzene (PeCB) and hexachlorobenzene (HCB) to Aldrich humic acid (AHA) and municipal wastewater treatment plant (MWTP) influent colloidal organic carbon (COC) was investigated using the gas-stripping technique. Gas stripping assumptions of gas/water equilibrium and a constant volatilization rate were validated prior to calculation of partitioning parameters. The logKCOC coefficients determined for MWTP influent COC were 3.86, 3.89 and 3.19 for TeCB, PeCB and HCB, respectively. Due to the presence of COC, the mass transfer of TeCB, PeCB and HCB with the primary effluent to the secondary biological stage was predicted to increase 8.7%, 9.6% and 1.2%, respectively, based on the measured COC concentration and logKCOC values. The calculated increases in apparent solubility for TeCB, PeCB and HCB in the primary effluent were 14.4%, 22.0% and 6.5%, respectively. This partitioning did not follow the expected trend (TeCB < PeCB < HCB) based on hydrophobicity predicted by octanol/water partitioning. The trend observed differed from the current AHA standard and correlation-based trends derived from natural COCs. More experiments with other HOCs are needed to better understand and predict the magnitude and significance of MWTP influent COCs on the fate and transport of HOCs during the MWTP process.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kerry N McPhedran
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Windsor, 401 Sunset Avenue, Windsor, Ontario, Canada N9B 3P4
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McPhedran KN, Seth R, Drouillard KG. Investigation of hydrophobic organic carbon (HOC) partitioning to 1 kDa fractionated municipal wastewater colloids. Environ Sci Technol 2013; 47:2548-2553. [PMID: 23294454 DOI: 10.1021/es3043802] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/01/2023]
Abstract
Natural organic matter from the aquatic environment passing a 1 kDa filter has been hypothesized to not contribute appreciably to hydrophobic organic compound (HOC) partitioning; however, to our knowledge this limit has not been verified experimentally for any sorbate/sorbent system. Presently, colloidal organic carbon (COC) < 1 kDa approached 70% of the total COC (<1.5 μm) mass in primary effluent (PE) from a municipal wastewater treatment plant. Partitioning of HOCs 1,2,4,5-tetrachlorobenzene, pentachlorobenzene, and hexachlorobenzene to COC for both 1.5 μm and 1 kDa filtrates of PE was investigated using the gas-stripping technique. Contrary to the hypothesis, significant HOC-COC partitioning to the 1 kDa filtrate was observed with organic carbon-normalized partitioning coefficients (logKCOC) of 4.30, 4.36, and 3.74 for 1,2,4,5-TeCB, PeCB, and HCB, respectively. Further, partitioning to COC < 1 kDa dominated the overall partitioning of the three chlorobenzenes in the 1.5 μm filtrate, and the partitioning behavior did not follow the trend based on hydrophobicity (KOW). The results show that significant partitioning of HOC may occur to OC < 1 kDa and highlights the need for further experiments with other HOCs and COC characterization to better understand and explain the observed partitioning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kerry N McPhedran
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Windsor, 401 Sunset Avenue, Windsor, Ontario, N9B 3P4, Canada.
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Wang J, McPhedran KN, Seth R, Drouillard KG. Evaluation of the STP model: comparison of modelled and experimental results for ten polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Chemosphere 2007; 69:1802-6. [PMID: 17644154 DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2007.06.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/04/2006] [Revised: 06/06/2007] [Accepted: 06/06/2007] [Indexed: 05/16/2023]
Abstract
Screening level risk assessment models are used by many countries to assess the treatability of organic chemicals during the sewage treatment process, especially those that are new to commerce. The performance of one such model, the sewage treatment plant model, is evaluated in the current study by comparing model predictions with actual measurement data collected at various stages of a typical full-scale activated sludge type sewage treatment plant. A suite of ten polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) with widely varying physico-chemical properties were monitored for the comparison. Model predicted removal efficiencies were in very good agreement with those measured for all ten PAHs. Observed chemical concentrations and their trends at various stages of the sewage treatment process were also well simulated by the model. Results also suggest that a reasonable first approximation estimate of a range for the biodegradation half-life needed for the model may be obtained by dividing reported aqueous biodegradation half-life by scaling factors of 50 and 150.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jian Wang
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Windsor, 401 Sunset Avenue, Windsor, Ontario, Canada
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