scholarly journals Enterobius vermicularis as a Novel Surrogate for the Presence of Helminth Ova in Tertiary Wastewater Treatment Plants

2017 ◽  
Vol 83 (11) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sydney P. Rudko ◽  
Norma J. Ruecker ◽  
Nicholas J. Ashbolt ◽  
Norman F. Neumann ◽  
Patrick C. Hanington
Keyword(s):  
Wastewater Treatment ◽  
Physical Properties ◽  
Wastewater Treatment Plants ◽  
Treated Wastewater ◽  
Enterobius Vermicularis ◽  
Potential Health ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Treatment Performance ◽  
Parasitic Worm ◽  
Wide Range

ABSTRACTSignificant effort has gone into assessing the fate and removal of viruses, bacteria, and protozoan parasites during wastewater treatment to provide data addressing potential health risks associated with reuse options. Comparatively less is known about the fate of parasitic worm species ova in these complex systems. It is largely assumed that these helminths settle, are removed with the sludge, and consequently represent a relatively low risk for wastewater reuse applications. However, helminths are a highly diverse group of organisms that display a wide range of physical properties that complicate the application of a single treatment for helminth reduction during wastewater treatment. Moreover, their diverse biological and physical properties make some ova highly resistant to both disinfection (i.e., with chlorine or UV treatment) and physical removal (settling) through the wastewater treatment train, indicating that there may be reason to broaden the scope of our investigations into whether parasitic worm eggs can be identified in treated wastewater. The ubiquitous human parasitic nematodeEnterobius vermicularis(pinworm) produces small, buoyant ova. Utilizing a novel diagnostic quantitative PCR (qPCR), this study monitoredE. vermicularispresence at two full-scale wastewater treatment plants over the course of 8 months and demonstrated incomplete physical removal ofE. vermicularisova through tertiary treatment, with removal efficiencies approximating only 0.5 and 1.6 log10at the two wastewater treatment plants based on qPCR. These findings demonstrate the need for more-diverse surrogates of helminthic ova to fully assess treatment performance with respect to reclaimed wastewaters.IMPORTANCEHelminths, despite being a diverse and environmentally resistant class of pathogens, are often underestimated and ignored when treatment performance at modern wastewater treatment plants is considered. A one-size-fits-all surrogate for removal of helminth ova may be inappropriate to adequately assess risk and ensure public safety when treated and partially treated wastewaters are encountered. This study argues for the use of human pinworm as a conservative indicator of the presence of helminth ova due to its small size, buoyancy, prevalence in humans, and environmental resistance.

scholarly journals Toxigenic Clostridium difficile PCR Ribotypes from Wastewater Treatment Plants in Southern Switzerland

2012 ◽  
Vol 78 (18) ◽  
pp. 6643-6646 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vincenza Romano ◽  
Vincenzo Pasquale ◽  
Karel Krovacek ◽  
Federica Mauri ◽  
Antonella Demarta ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Wastewater Treatment ◽  
Clostridium Difficile ◽  
Wastewater Treatment Plants ◽  
Treatment Plant ◽  
Treated Wastewater ◽  
Binary Toxin ◽  
Toxin B ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Human Infections ◽  
Reuse Of Treated Wastewater

ABSTRACTThe occurrence ofClostridium difficilein nine wastewater treatment plants in the Ticino Canton (southern Switzerland) was investigated. The samples were collected from raw sewage influents and from treated effluents. Forty-seven out of 55 characterizedC. difficilestrains belonged to 13 different reference PCR ribotypes (009, 010, 014, 015, 039, 052, 053, 066, 070, 078, 101, 106, and 117), whereas 8 strains did not match any of those available in our libraries. The most frequently isolated ribotype (40%) was 078, isolated from six wastewater treatment plants, whereas ribotype 066, a toxigenic emerging ribotype isolated from patients admitted to hospitals in Europe and Switzerland, was isolated from the outgoing effluent of one plant. The majority of the isolates (85%) were toxigenic. Forty-nine percent of them produced toxin A, toxin B, and the binary toxin (toxigenic profile A+B+CDT+), whereas 51% showed the profile A+B+CDT−. Interestingly, eight ribotypes (010, 014, 015, 039, 066, 078, 101, and 106) were among the riboprofiles isolated from symptomatic patients admitted to the hospitals of the Ticino Canton in 2010. Despite the limitation of sampling, this study highlights that toxigenic ribotypes ofC. difficileinvolved in human infections may occur in both incoming and outgoing biological wastewater treatment plants. Such a finding raises concern about the possible contamination of water bodies that receive wastewater treatment plant effluents and about the safe reuse of treated wastewater.

scholarly journals Eutrophication and Bacterial Pathogens as Risk Factors for Avian Botulism Outbreaks in Wetlands Receiving Effluents from Urban Wastewater Treatment Plants

2014 ◽  
Vol 80 (14) ◽  
pp. 4251-4259 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ibone Anza ◽  
Dolors Vidal ◽  
Celia Laguna ◽  
Sandra Díaz-Sánchez ◽  
Sergio Sánchez ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Wastewater Treatment ◽  
Wastewater Treatment Plants ◽  
Oxygen Demand ◽  
Biosphere Reserve ◽  
High Water ◽  
Treated Wastewater ◽  
Floodplain Wetlands ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Avian Botulism ◽  
Bird Feces

ABSTRACTDue to the scarcity of water resources in the “Mancha Húmeda” Biosphere Reserve, the use of treated wastewater has been proposed as a solution for the conservation of natural threatened floodplain wetlands. In addition, wastewater treatment plants of many villages pour their effluent into nearby natural lakes. We hypothesized that certain avian pathogens present in wastewater may cause avian mortalities which would trigger avian botulism outbreaks. With the aim of testing our hypothesis, 24 locations distributed in three wetlands, two that receive wastewater effluents and one serving as a control, were monitored during a year. Sediment, water, water bird feces, and invertebrates were collected for the detection of putative avian pathogenicEscherichia coli(APEC),Salmonellaspp.,Clostridium perfringenstype A, andClostridium botulinumtype C/D. Also, water and sediment physicochemical properties were determined. Overall, APEC,C. perfringens, andC. botulinumwere significantly more prevalent in samples belonging to the wetlands which receive wastewater. The occurrence of a botulism outbreak in one of the studied wetlands coincided with high water temperatures and sediment 5-day biochemical oxygen demand (BOD5), a decrease in water redox potential, chlorophylla, and sulfate levels, and an increase in water inorganic carbon levels. The presence ofC. botulinumin bird feces before the onset of the outbreak indicates that carrier birds exist and highlights the risk of botulinum toxin production in their carcasses if they die by other causes such as bacterial diseases, which are more probable in wastewater wetlands.

Nanofiltration of endocrine disrupting compounds

2003 ◽  
Vol 3 (5-6) ◽  
pp. 321-327 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Gallenkemper ◽  
T. Wintgens ◽  
T. Melin
Keyword(s):  
Wastewater Treatment ◽  
Municipal Wastewater ◽  
Wastewater Treatment Plants ◽  
Endocrine Disrupting Compounds ◽  
Municipal Wastewater Treatment ◽  
Water And Wastewater Treatment ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Endocrine Disrupting ◽  
Municipal Wastewater Treatment Plants ◽  
Set Up

Endocrine disrupting compounds can affect the hormone system in organisms. A wide range of endocrine disrupters were found in sewage and effluents of municipal wastewater treatment plants. Toxicological evaluations indicate that conventional wastewater treatment plants are not able to remove these substances sufficiently before disposing effluent into the environment. Membrane technology, which is proving to be an effective barrier to these substances, is the subject of this research. Nanofiltration provides high quality permeates in water and wastewater treatment. Eleven different nanofiltration membranes were tested in the laboratory set-up. The observed retention for nonylphenol (NP) and bisphenol A (BPA) ranged between 70% and 100%. The contact angle is an indicator for the hydrophobicity of a membrane, whose influence on the permeability and retention of NP was evident. The retention of BPA was found to be inversely proportional to the membrane permeability.

scholarly journals Ultrafiltration Process in Disinfection and Advanced Treatment of Tertiary Treated Wastewater

Membranes ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 221
Author(s):  
Rafał Tytus Bray ◽  
Katarzyna Jankowska ◽  
Eliza Kulbat ◽  
Aneta Łuczkiewicz ◽  
Aleksandra Sokołowska
Keyword(s):  
Wastewater Treatment ◽  
Wastewater Treatment Plants ◽  
Microscopic Analysis ◽  
Fecal Coliforms ◽  
Treated Wastewater ◽  
Chemical Parameters ◽  
Virus Particles ◽  
E Coli ◽  
The One ◽  
Physical And Chemical

The paper presents the results of research on the use of ultrafiltration, using membranes of 200 and 400 kDa separation, for disinfection of municipal treated wastewater. The research was conducted on a fractional technical scale using real municipal treated wastewater from two large wastewater treatment plants treating most of the wastewater over the one-million polycentric Gdańsk agglomeration (1.2 million inhabitants). UF 200 kDa and UF 400 kDa processes enabled further improvement of the physical and chemical parameters of treated wastewater. Total phosphorus (to below 0.2 mg/L–UF 200 kDa, 0.13 mg/L–UF 400 kDa) and turbid substances (to below 0.2 mg/L, both membranes) were removed in the highest degree. COD was reduced efficiently (to below 25.6 mgO2/L–UF 200 kDa, 26.8 mgO2/L–UF 400 kDa), while total nitrogen was removed to a small extent (to 7.12 mg/L–UF 200 kDa and 5.7 mg/L–UF 400 kDa. Based on the reduction of indicator bacteria; fecal coliforms including E. coli (FC) and fecal enterococci (FE) it was found that the ultrafiltration is an effective method of disinfection. Not much indicator bacterial were observed in the permeate after processes (UF 200 kDa; FC—5 CFU/L; FE—1 CFU/L and UF 400 kDa; FC—70 CFU/L; FE—10 CFU/L. However, microscopic analysis of prokaryotic cells and virus particles showed their presence after the application of both membrane types; TCN 3.0 × 102 cells/mL–UF 200 kDa, 5.0 × 103 cells/mL–UF 400 kDa, VP 1.0 × 105/mL. The presence of potentially pathogenic, highly infectious virus particles means that ultrafiltration cannot be considered a sufficient disinfection method for treated wastewater diverted for reuse or discharged from high load wastewater treatment plants to recreational areas. For full microbiological safety it would be advisable to apply an additional disinfection method (e.g., ozonation).

Detection and molecular characterization of enteric adenovirus in treated wastewater in the Brazilian Federal District

2021 ◽  
Vol 3 (7) ◽  
Author(s):  
T. S. C. Quintão ◽  
F. G. Silva ◽  
A. L. Pereira ◽  
W. N. Araújo ◽  
P. M. Oliveira ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Phylogenetic Analysis ◽  
Wastewater Treatment ◽  
Wastewater Treatment Plants ◽  
Federal District ◽  
Treated Wastewater ◽  
Conventional Pcr ◽  
Rainfall Index ◽  
Enteric Adenovirus ◽  
Enteric Adenoviruses

AbstractHuman enteric viruses, such as enteric adenoviruses (HAdV), are known to be involved with gastrointestinal disorders, especially acute gastroenteritis. Several studies have used HAdV as an indicator of water quality, since they are considered highly stable and widely distributed viruses in water matrices. The aim of this study was to detect and genotype HAdVs in water matrices impacted by discharges of treated effluents from wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). Wastewater treatment plants from the sanitary system of the Brazilian Federal District were assessed in 2018 and 2019. Samples were collected upstream and downstream from discharge points for each WWTP. Viral concentration based on adsorption-elution and conventional PCR was used for molecular detection, and positive samples were sequenced for phylogenetic analysis. Pluviosity data for the period in which the samples were collected were obtained. Our results demonstrated the presence of HAdVs in 27.2% (61/224) of the samples. The positivity was significantly higher in downstream samples compared to upstream. Moreover, the HAdV positivity was higher in downstream samples collected from receiving water bodies impacted by secondary-level WWTPs in comparison with those impacted by tertiary-level WWTPs. Phylogenetic analysis demonstrated the presence of genotypes 40 and 41, with prevalence of HAdV genotype 41. Despite the predominance of HAdV-41, an increasing frequency of the HAdV-40 was associated with higher pluviosity. In conclusion, this study is the first documentation in the Brazilian Federal District dealing with the prevalence and diversity of HAdVs in several WWTP, along with their correlation with rainfall index.

OPTIMIZING OPERATION OF WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANTS BY OFFLINE AND ONLINE COMPUTER SIMULATION

1994 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 165-174 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ralf Otterpohl ◽  
Thomas Rolfs ◽  
Jörg Londong
Keyword(s):  
Computer Simulation ◽  
Wastewater Treatment ◽  
Activated Sludge ◽  
Nitrogen Removal ◽  
Wastewater Treatment Plants ◽  
Treatment Plant ◽  
Historical Analysis ◽  
Computer Work ◽  
Biological Phosphorus Removal ◽  
Wide Range

Computer simulation of activated sludge plant for nitrogen removal has become a reliable tool to predict the behaviour of the plant Models including biological phosphorus removal still require some practical experience but they should be available soon. This will offer an even wider range than today's work with nitrogen removal. One major benefit of computer simulation of wastewater treatment plants (WTP) is the optimization of operation. This can be done offline if hydrographs of a plant are collected and computer work is done with “historical” analysis. With online simulation the system is fed with hydrographs up to the actual time. Prognosis can be done from the moment of the computer work based on usual hydrographs. The work of the authors shows how accuratly a treatment plant can be described, when many parameters are measured and available as hydrographs. A very careful description of all details of the special plant is essential, requiring a flexible simulation tool. Based on the accurate simulation a wide range of operational decisions can be evaluated. It was possible to demonstrate that the overall efficiency in nitrogen removal and energy consumption of ml activated sludge plant can be improved.

scholarly journals Biological Activity of Wastewater Assessed Using in Vitro Cell-Based Assays

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adamo R. Petosa ◽  
Monica Nowierski ◽  
Viviane Yargeau
Keyword(s):  
Wastewater Treatment ◽  
Wastewater Treatment Plants ◽  
Estrogenic Activity ◽  
Solid Phase ◽  
Treated Wastewater ◽  
Chemical Analyses ◽  
Untreated Wastewater ◽  
17Β Estradiol ◽  
Receiving Waters

Abstract Bioanalytical tools, namely in vitro bioassays, can be employed in tandem with chemical analyses to assess the efficacy of wastewater treatment and the potential for adverse effects from the discharges of wastewater into receiving waters. In the present study, samples of untreated wastewater (i.e. influent) and treated wastewater (i.e. effluent) were collected from two wastewater treatment plants and a wastewater treatment lagoon serving municipalities in southern Ontario, Canada. In addition, grab samples of surface water were collected downstream of the lagoon discharge. After solid phase extraction (SPE) using ion-exchange columns for basic/neutral and acidic compounds, respectively, the extracts were analyzed for a suite of 16 indicator compounds. The two SPE extracts were combined for analysis of biological responses in four in vitro cell-based bioassays. The concentrations of several indicator compounds, including the estrogens, 17β-estradiol and 17α-ethinylestradiol, were below the limits of detection. However, androstenedione and estrone were detected in several influent samples. The concentrations of these steroid hormones and some of the other indicator compounds declined during treatment but acesulfame K, carbamazepine, trimethoprim and DEET persisted in the effluent. The MTS- CellTiter 96® AQueous One Solution Cell Proliferation Assay (MTS) indicated that cell viability was not affected by exposure to the extracts. The Qiagen Nuclear Receptors 10-Pathway Reporter Array indicated that several cellular pathways were upregulated, with the greatest upregulation observed with the estrogen receptor (i.e. induction ratios 12 to 47) and the liver X receptor (i.e. induction ratios 10 to 45). The ERα CALUX assay indicated that estrogenic activity was lower in effluents compared to influents, with the greatest estrogenic activity observed for grab samples of influent from the lagoon (i.e. 56-215 ng L-1 17β-estradiol equivalents). Finally, the results of the Nrf2 Luciferase Luminescence Assay indicated a lower oxidative stress in the effluent samples. Overall, the present study demonstrates that chemical analyses are limited in their ability to predict or explain reductions in the toxicity of treated wastewater. There are thus advantages to using a combination of chemical analyses and in vitro bioassays to monitor the treatment efficiency of wastewater treatment plants and to predict the potential impacts of wastewater discharges into receiving waters.

scholarly journals Sewer Mining as a Distributed Intervention for Water-Energy-Materials in the Circular Economy Suitable for Dense Urban Environments: A Real World Demonstration in the City of Athens

Water ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (19) ◽  
pp. 2764
Author(s):  
Argyro Plevri ◽  
Klio Monokrousou ◽  
Christos Makropoulos ◽  
Christos Lioumis ◽  
Nikolaos Tazes ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Wastewater Treatment ◽  
Circular Economy ◽  
Water Reuse ◽  
Wastewater Treatment Plants ◽  
Treatment Plant ◽  
Urban Environments ◽  
Treated Wastewater ◽  
Aquifer Recharge ◽  
Treatment Unit ◽  
Plant Nursery

Water reuse and recycling is gaining momentum as a way to improve the circularity of cities, while recognizing the central role of water within a circular economy (CE) context. However, such interventions often depend on the location of wastewater treatment plants and the treatment technologies installed in their premises, while relying on an expensive piped network to ensure that treated wastewater gets transported from the treatment plant to the point of demand. Thus, the penetration level of treated wastewater as a source of non-potable supply in dense urban environments is limited. This paper focuses on the demonstration of a sewer mining (SM) unit as a source of treated wastewater, as part of a larger and more holistic configuration that examines all three ‘streams’ associated with water in CE: water, energy and materials. The application area is the Athens Plant Nursery, in the (water stressed) city of Athens, Greece. SM technology is in fact a mobile wastewater treatment unit in containers able to extract wastewater from local sewers, treat it directly and reuse at the point of demand even in urban environments with limited space. The unit consists of a membrane bioreactor unit (MBR) and a UV disinfection unit and produces high quality reclaimed water for irrigation and also for aquifer recharge during the winter. Furthermore, a short overview of the integrated nutrient and energy recovery subsystem is presented in order to conceptualise the holistic approach and circularity of the whole configuration. The SM technology demonstrates flexibility, scalability and replicability, which are important characteristics for innovation uptake within the emerging CE context and market.

scholarly journals Bacteria from the Genus Arcobacter Are Abundant in Effluent from Wastewater Treatment Plants

2020 ◽  
Vol 86 (9) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jannie Munk Kristensen ◽  
Marta Nierychlo ◽  
Mads Albertsen ◽  
Per Halkjær Nielsen
Keyword(s):  
Wastewater Treatment ◽  
Pathogenic Bacteria ◽  
Municipal Wastewater ◽  
Wastewater Treatment Plants ◽  
Amplicon Sequencing ◽  
Rrna Gene ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Effluent Quality ◽  
Culture Independent ◽  
Influent Wastewater

ABSTRACT Pathogenic bacteria in wastewater are generally considered to be efficiently removed in biological wastewater treatment plants. This understanding is almost solely based on culture-based control measures, and here we show, by applying culture-independent methods, that the removal of species in the genus Arcobacter was less effective than for many other abundant genera in the influent wastewater. Arcobacter was one of the most abundant genera in influent wastewater at 14 municipal wastewater treatment plants and was also abundant in the “clean” effluent from all the plants, reaching up to 30% of all bacteria as analyzed by 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing. Metagenomic analyses, culturing, genome sequencing of Arcobacter isolates, and visualization by fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) confirmed the presence of the human-pathogenic Arcobacter cryaerophilus and A. butzleri in both influent and effluent. The main reason for the high relative abundance in the effluent was probably that Arcobacter cells, compared to those of other abundant genera in the influent, did not flocculate and attach well to the activated sludge flocs, leaving a relatively large fraction dispersed in the water phase. The study shows there is an urgent need for new standardized culture-independent measurements of pathogens in effluent wastewaters, e.g., amplicon sequencing, and an investigation of the problem on a global scale to quantify the risk for humans and livestock. IMPORTANCE The genus Arcobacter was unexpectedly abundant in the effluent from 14 Danish wastewater treatment plants treating municipal wastewater, and the species included the human-pathogenic A. cryaerophilus and A. butzleri. Recent studies have shown that Arcobacter is common in wastewater worldwide, so the study indicates that discharge of members of the genus Arcobacter may be a global problem, and further studies are needed to quantify the risk and potentially minimize the discharge. The study also shows that culture-based analyses are insufficient for proper effluent quality control, and new standardized culture-independent measurements of effluent quality encompassing most pathogens should be considered.

scholarly journals Bio-Methanol Production Using Treated Domestic Wastewater with Mixed Methanotroph Species and Anaerobic Digester Biogas

Water ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (10) ◽  
pp. 1414 ◽  
Author(s):  
I-Tae Kim ◽  
Young-Seok Yoo ◽  
Young-Han Yoon ◽  
Ye-Eun Lee ◽  
Jun-Ho Jo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Wastewater Treatment ◽  
Municipal Wastewater ◽  
Wastewater Treatment Plants ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Treated Wastewater ◽  
Culture Solution ◽  
Municipal Wastewater Treatment ◽  
Mineral Salts ◽  
Methanol Production ◽  
Municipal Wastewater Treatment Plants

The development of cost-effective methods, which generate minimal chemical wastewater, for methanol production is an important research goal. In this study, treated wastewater (TWW) was utilized as a culture solution for methanol production by mixed methanotroph species as an alternative to media prepared from commercial or chemical agents, e.g., nitrate mineral salts medium. Furthermore, a realistic alternative for producing methanol in wastewater treatment plants using biogas from anaerobic digestion was proposed. By culturing mixed methanotroph species with nitrate and phosphate-supplemented TWW in municipal wastewater treatment plants, this study demonstrates, for the first time, the application of biogas generated from the sludge digester of municipal wastewater treatment plants. NaCl alone inhibited methanol dehydrogenase and the addition of 40 mM formate as an electron donor increased methanol production to 6.35 mM. These results confirmed that this practical energy production method could enable cost-effective methanol production. As such, methanol produced in wastewater treatment plants can be used as an eco-friendly energy and carbon source for biological denitrification, which can be an alternative to reducing the expenses required for the waste water treatment process.

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