Impact of mixing on water quality in the Bosphorus - Implications on sustainable management of wastewater marine discharges.

The study established the water quality modelling of the Bosphorus system, based on hydrodynamic data as well as the results of the water quality survey carried out in the last five years. The model revealed significant decrease in the magnitude of pollutant loads in the upper layer at the exit into The Marmara Sea providing numerical proof that no pollutant transport would take place from sewage discharges to the upper layer. A similar modelling approach was implemented at the Bosphorus/Marmara interface, a significant hotspot as it included two major deep marine outfalls. The results asserted that the entire sewage flow would enter the lower flow in The Bosphorus through the interface without an appreciable mixing with the upper flow. This way, the study provided a significant scientific support for the sustainable management of marine discharges in this area, since they have no physical interference with The Marmara Sea.

Pollutant dynamics between The Black Sea and The Marmara Sea: Basis for wastewater management strategy.

The study evaluated pollutant dynamics between The Black Sea and The Marmara Sea using data collected during a marine survey of the region around The Bosphorus strait, in the last five years. A hydraulic model was utilized to define two-layered water exchange in The Bosphorus. Analysis of pollutant exchange indicated The Black Sea as major polluter for the marine environment in The Marmara Sea. Four wastewater outfalls are located along The Bosphorus; Mass balances between the two ends of The Bosphorus indicated losses of 44 t/d total N and 138 t/d COD in the lower layer before reaching The Black Sea. This was explained with a simultaneous nitrification-denitrification process sustained in the low oxygen or anoxic zones around the outfalls, implying that a sustainable wastewater strategy should preclude additional treatment for The Bosphorus discharges, since they do not have an appreciable impact on the water quality of the lower flow.

Optimization of alkaline hydrothermal pretreatment of biological sludge for enhanced methane generation under anaerobic conditions.

This paper investigated the effect of alkaline hydrothermal pretreatment (HTP) on the hydrolysis, biodegradation and methane generation potential of waste activated sludge (WAS). A multi-variable experimental approach was designed, where initial solids content (1-5%), reaction temperature (130-190 °C), reaction time (10-30 min.) and caustic concentration (0-0.2 mgNaOH/mgVS) were varied in different combinations to assess the impact of alkaline HTP. This process significantly enhanced the hydrolysis of organic compounds in sludge into soluble fractions, whereby increasing the chemical oxygen demand (COD) leakage up to 200-900% with the 17-99% solubility. It boosted volatile solids (VS) biodegradation up to 40%, which resulted in a parallel increase in methane generation from 216 mLCH4/gVS to as high a 456 mLCH4/gVS methane generation basically relied on the conversion of solubilized COD. Alkaline HTP process was optimized for the maximum methane production. Optimum conditions were obtained at 190 °C reaction temperature, 10 min. reaction time, 0.2 mgNaOH/mgVS and 5% dry matter content. Under these conditions, 453.8 mLCH4/gVS was predicted. Biochemical methane potential (BMP) value was determined as 464 mLCH4/gVS supporting predictive power of the BMP model. The biodegradability compared to the untreated raw WAS was enhanced 78.2%.

Microbial endogenous response to acute inhibitory impact of antibiotics.

Enhanced endogenous respiration was observed as the significant/main response of the aerobic microbial culture under pulse exposure to antibiotics: sulfamethoxazole, tetracycline and erythromycin. Peptone mixture and acetate were selected as organic substrates to compare the effect of complex and simple substrates. Experiments were conducted with microbial cultures acclimated to different sludge ages of 10 and 2 days, to visualize the effect of culture history. Evaluation relied on modeling of oxygen uptake rate profiles, reflecting the effect of all biochemical reactions associated with substrate utilization. Model calibration exhibited significant increase in values of endogenous respiration rate coefficient with all antibiotic doses. Enhancement of endogenous respiration was different with antibiotic type and initial dose. Results showed that both peptone mixture and acetate cultures harbored resistance genes against the tested antibiotics, which suggests that biomass spends cellular maintenance energy for activating the required antibiotic resistance mechanisms to survive, supporting higher endogenous decay rates. ABBREVIATIONS: [Formula: see text]: maximum growth rate for XH (day-1); KS: half saturation constant for growth of XH (mg COD/L); bH: endogenous decay rate for XH (day-1); kh: maximum hydrolysis rate for SH1 (day-1); KX: hydrolysis half saturation constant for SH1(mg COD/L); khx: maximum hydrolysis rate for XS1 (day-1); KXX: hydrolysis half saturation constant for XS1 (mg COD/L); kSTO: maximum storage rate of PHA by XH (day-1); [Formula: see text]: maximum growth rate on PHA for XH (day-1); KSTO: half saturation constant for storage of PHA by XH (mg COD/L); XH1: initial active biomass (mg COD/L).

High temperature pyrolysis of sewage sludge as a sustainable process for energy recovery.

This study explored the potential of high temperature pyrolysis for energy recovery from domestic sewage. It mainly defines optimum operating conditions to maximize syngas generation. A pyrolysis unit was operated in batch mode, at temperatures of 450, 600 and 850 °C, rotation speeds of 10, 40 and 60 Hz. The sludge had 6% moisture content; it contained 65% organic matter and involved a low calorific value of 13.535 kJ/kg dry matter. Pyrolysis at 850 °C and high rotation speed of 60 Hz yielded the highest conversion of sludge to syngas, with an average of 59% of the organic matter as syngas, 29% as tar and 12% as biochar. Pyrolysis enabled 74% of the energy recovery as syngas and tar. Continuous full-scale pyrolysis systems would further increase the syngas by recovering condensable gaseous products and/or recycling tar back into the pyrolysis unit. A unified approach for energy recovery management should equally consider what fraction of the energy contained in the wastewater was consumed and wasted before generating the sludge. Therefore, the adopted management scheme should also cover all design and operation parameters of the treatment plant, because this is how the energy is best conserved even before the sludge is generated.

Dynamic modeling of nutrient removal by a MBR operated at elevated temperatures.

The process performance of a MBR operated on municipal sewage at elevated temperatures was evaluated by dynamic modeling. The enhanced biological phosphorus removal (EBPR) performance varied from 40% to 95% with process temperature ranging from 24 to 38 °C. The respective maximum substrate uptake rate (qPHA) was estimated at 1.5 gCODS/gCODX.day-1 for Glycogen Accumulating Organisms (GAO) and 4.7 gCODS/gCODX.day-1 for Phosphate Accumulating Organisms (PAO) with Arrhenius coefficients (θ) for GAOs and PAOs of 1.06 and 1.04 respectively. With these parameters the effluent PO4 levels of the MBR operated for 450 days could be well described. In addition, the impact of mesophilic conditions and low influent P/VFA levels on GAO proliferation was evaluated under dynamic process conditions. Nitrification process was temporarily impaired at high temperatures around 38 °C. Simulations revealed that the contribution of the anoxic reactor to the total overall denitrification was limited to 40%The contribution of simultaneous nitrification and denitrification (SNdN) process to the denitrification was around 40-50% depending upon dissolved oxygen levels in aerobic and MBR tanks. The large contribution of SNdN was due to gas/liquid mass transfer limitation conditions mediated by high mixed liquor viscosities (20-35 mPa.S) in MBR system. The membrane flux was 43 L/m2/h corresponding to the specific permeability (K) of 413 L/m2/h/bar at 38 °C.

Kinetic evaluation of nitrification performance in an immobilized cell membrane bioreactor.

High rate membrane bioreactor (MBR) systems operated at extremely low sludge ages (superfast membrane bioreactors (SFMBRs)) are inefficient to achieve nitrogen removal, due to insufficient retention time for nitrifiers. Moreover, frequent chemical cleaning is required due to high biomass flux. This study aims to satisfy the nitrification in SFMBRs by using sponge as carriers, leading to the extension of the residence time of microorganisms. In order to test the limits of nitrification, bioreactor was run under 52, 5 and 2 days of carrier residence time (CRT), with a hydraulic retention time of 6 h. Different degrees of nitrification were obtained for different CRTs. Sponge immobilized SFMBR operation with short CRT resulted in partial nitrification indicating selective dominancy of ammonia oxidizers. At higher CRT, simultaneous nitrification-denitrification was achieved when accompanying with oxygen limitation. Process kinetics was determined through evaluation of the results by a modeling study. Nitrifier partition in the reactor was also identified by model calibration.

Toward a novel membrane process for organic carbon removal-fate of slowly biodegradable substrate in super fast membrane bioreactor.

The study tested the performance of super fast membrane bioreactor (SFMBR) using starch as a slowly biodegradable substrate, exploring the fate of starch, and the response of the microbial community. SFMBR was operated at extremely low sludge ages of 0.5-2.0 days, with a hydraulic retention time of 1.0 h. Average values for permeate chemical oxygen demand (COD) always remained in the narrow range between 14 and 18 mg/L, regardless of the selected mode of MBR operation at different sludge ages. Soluble COD levels in the reactor were consistently higher than the corresponding permeate COD. Parameters defining process kinetics, determined by model calibration of oxygen uptake rate (OUR) profiles, varied as a function of sludge age. Model simulation of SFMBR performance indicated total removal of hydrolysis products so that permeate COD consisted of residual microbial products. PCR-DGGE experiments revealed significant shifts in the composition of the microbial community imposed by variations in the sludge age, reflecting on corresponding process kinetics.

Anaerobic sulfamethoxazole degradation is driven by homoacetogenesis coupled with hydrogenotrophic methanogenesis.

In this study, microbial community dynamics were assessed in two lab-scale anaerobic sequencing batch reactors (ASBRs). One of the reactors was fed by synthetic pharmaceutical industry wastewater with sulfamethoxazole (SMX) as the test reactor and the other without sulfamethoxazole as the control reactor. DNA based DGGE results indicated that Clostiridum sp. became dominant in the SMX reactor while the inoculum was dominated with Firmicutes (61%) and Methanomicrobiales (28%). However their abundances in active community decreased through the last phase. Also the abundance of hydrogenotrophs was high in each phase, while acetoclastic methanogens disappeared in the last phase. Q-PCR analysis revealed that there is a significant reduction in the bacterial community approximately 84%, while methanogens increased to 97% through the operation. Additionally an increase in the expression level of bacterial and methanogenic 16S rRNA (60% and 20%, respectively) was detected. Significant correlation between microbial community and the reactor operation data was found. The study demonstrated that the microbial community maintains the system stability under high antibiotic concentration and long-term operation by homoacetogenesis coupled with hydrogenotrophic methanogenesis.

Acute impact of tetracycline on the utilization of acetate by activated sludge sustained under different growth conditions.

The study evaluated acute impact of tetracycline on the biodegradation of acetate by microbial cultures acclimated to different growth conditions. Two fill/draw reactors were operated to obtain acclimated cultures at sludge ages of 2 and 10 days. Acclimated biomass seeding was used in two series of batch experiments. The first run served as control and others were started with tetracycline doses of 100mg/L and 400mg/L. Parallel batch reactors were also operated for oxygen uptake rate (OUR) measurements. Acute impact was evaluated by model calibration of OUR, chemical oxygen demand (COD) and intracellular storage profiles. Exposure to tetracycline did not impair COD removal but induced a shift in acetate utilization toward polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) storage. This shift was more pronounced for fast growing biomass; it identified itself both in related process kinetics and the modified stoichiometry between the magnitude of acetate directly used for microbial growth and converted to PHB.

Long-term study on the impact of temperature on enhanced biological phosphorus and nitrogen removal in membrane bioreactor.

The study involved experimental observation and performance evaluation of a membrane bioreactor system treating municipal wastewater for nutrient removal for a period 500 days, emphasizing the impact of high temperature on enhanced biological phosphorus removal (EBPR). The MBR system was operated at relatively high temperatures (24-41 °C). During the operational period, the total phosphorus (TP) removal gradually increased from 50% up to 95% while the temperature descended from 41 to 24 °C. At high temperatures, anaerobic volatile fatty acid (VFA) uptake occurred with low phosphorus release implying the competition of glycogen accumulating organisms (GAOs) with polyphosphate accumulating organisms (PAOs). Low dissolved oxygen conditions associated with high wastewater temperatures did not appreciable affected nitrification but enhanced nitrogen removal. Dissolved oxygen levels around 1.0 mgO2/L in membrane tank provided additional denitrification capacity of 6-7 mgN/L by activating simultaneous nitrification and denitrification. As a result, nearly complete removal of nitrogen could be achieved in the MBR system, generating a permeate with no appreciable nitrogen content. The gross membrane flux was 43 LMH corresponding to the specific permeability (K) of 413 LMH/bar at 39 °C in the MBR tank. The specific permeability increased by the factor of 43% at 39 °C compared to that of 25 °C during long-term operation.

Acute effect of erythromycin on metabolic transformations of volatile fatty acid mixture under anaerobic conditions.

The study explored the acute inhibitory impact of erythromycin on the methanogenic activity of acclimated biomass fed with a volatile fatty acid mixture and acetate alone. Parallel batch reactors were operated for six days, with increasing erythromycin dosing in the range of 1-1000 mg L(-1). Substrate removal was monitored by means of soluble COD and volatile fatty acid (VFA) measurements together with parallel observations on biogas and methane generation. The inhibitory impact was variable with the initial erythromycin dose: At lower doses, the VFA mixture was completely removed but partially utilized, leading to reduced biogas and methane generation, suggesting the analogy of uncompetitive inhibition. At higher doses, propionate utilization was totally impaired and butyrate removal was reduced, but acetate was still fully removed. Remaining VFAs were partly converted to new VFA compound through isomerization and polymerization reactions. High erythromycin doses induced total inactivation of microbial metabolism with negligible methane generation.

Effect of extended aeration on the fate of particulate components in sludge stabilization.

The study investigated the effect of extended aeration on the fate of particulate components of biological sludge in aerobic stabilization. Biological sludge was generated in a fill and draw reactor fed with domestic sewage and sustained at steady state, at a sludge age of 20 days. Particulate fractions of sludge were determined by model evaluation of the corresponding oxygen uptake rate profile. Extended aeration could not produce a mineralized biomass. External aerobic stabilization of the thickened sludge achieved a volatile suspended solids reduction of 68% after 60 days. High reduction could be attributed to the relatively higher rate for the hydrolysis of accumulated particulate metabolic products, compared to conventional activated sludge. Model evaluation based on death-regeneration mechanism indicated a gradually decreasing decay rate for solids; the first phase could be associated with the inactivation/death of the viable biomass and the second controlled by the slower breakdown of particulate metabolic products.

Effect of storage on the respirometric relationship between substrate utilization and microbial growth.

The paper evaluated the impact of substrate storage on the respirometric assessment of process stoichiometry based on oxygen uptake rate (OUR) measurements. Two parallel sequencing batch reactors were operated with pulse feeding of synthetic substrate mixture at a sludge age of 8 days and 2 days. During the cycle experiments with acetate, 40-45% of acetate was converted to polyhydroxybutyrate, which was partly consumed during each cycle. Respirometric analysis also yielded OUR profiles for the corresponding cyclic operation. A mass balance expression was derived based on oxygen utilization. Oxygen demands calculated on the basis of partial PHB utilization closely matched the experimental values retrieved from OUR profiles within limits of analytical precision. The relative contribution of storage mechanism represented more than 50% of overall oxygen demand. Substrate storage, when totally disregarded or not properly evaluated, was observed to involve an error of around 10% on overall the oxygen demand.

Scientific basis of dissolved organic carbon limitation for landfilling of municipal treatment sludge--is it attainable and justifiable?

This study evaluated the scientific and technical basis of the dissolved organic carbon (DOC) limitation imposed on municipal sludge for landfilling, mainly for assessing the attainability of the implemented numerical level. For this purpose, related conceptual framework was analyzed, covering related sewage characteristics, soluble microbial products generation, and substrate solubilization and leakage due to hydrolysis. Soluble COD footprint was experimentally established for a selected treatment plant, including all the key steps in the sequence of wastewater treatment and sludge handling. Observed results were compared with reported DOCs in other treatment configurations. None of the leakage tests performed or considered in the study could even come close to the prescribed limitation. All observed results reflected 10-20 fold higher DOC levels than the numerical limit of 800 mg/kg (80 mg/L), providing conclusive evidence that the DOC limitation imposed on municipal treatment sludge for landfilling is not attainable, and therefore not justifiable on the basis of currently available technology.

Chronic impact of sulfamethoxazole on acetate utilization kinetics and population dynamics of fast growing microbial culture.

The study evaluated the chronic impact of sulfamethoxazole on metabolic activities of fast growing microbial culture. It focused on changes induced on utilization kinetics of acetate and composition of the microbial community. The experiments involved a fill and draw reactor, fed with acetate and continuous sulfamethoxazole dosing of 50 mg/L. The evaluation relied on model evaluation of the oxygen uptake rate profiles, with parallel assessment of microbial community structure by 454-pyrosequencing. Continuous sulfamethoxazole dosing inflicted a retardation effect on acetate utilization in a way commonly interpreted as competitive inhibition, blocked substrate storage and accelerated endogenous respiration. A fraction of acetate was utilized at a much lower rate with partial biodegradation of sulfamethoxazole. Results of pyrosequencing with a replacement mechanism within a richer more diversified microbial culture, through inactivation of vulnerable fractions in favor of species resistant to antibiotic, which made them capable of surviving and competing even with a slower metabolic response.

Modeling the fate of particulate components in aerobic sludge stabilization--performance limitations.

The study investigated the effect of sludge composition on the limitations of aerobic stabilization. It was designed with the foresight that the stabilization mechanism could only be elucidated if the observed volatile suspended solids reduction were correlated with the fate of particulate components in sludge. Biomass sustained at sludge ages of 2 and 10 days were used in the stabilization reactors. Particulate components were determined by model evaluation of corresponding oxygen uptake rate profiles. Interpretation of the experimental data by modeling, based on death-regeneration mechanism without external substrate, could simulate the fate and evolution of major components in sludge during stabilization. It showed that both microbial decay and hydrolysis of non viable cellular material proceeded at much slower rates as compared with biological systems sustained with substrate feeding. Modeling also indicated that particulate metabolic products generated by sludge acclimated to high sludge age undergo slow biodegradation under prolonged stabilization.

Effect of high loading on substrate utilization kinetics and microbial community structure in super fast submerged membrane bioreactor.

The study investigated the effect of high substrate loading on substrate utilization kinetics, and changes inflicted on the composition of the microbial community in a superfast submerged membrane bioreactor. Submerged MBR was sequentially fed with a substrate mixture and acetate; its performance was monitored at steady-state, at extremely low sludge age values of 2.0, 1.0 and 0.5d, all adjusted to a single hydraulic retention time of 8.0 h. Each MBR run was repeated when substrate feeding was increased from 200 mg COD/L to 1000 mg COD/L. Substrate utilization kinetics was altered to significantly lower levels when the MBR was adjusted to higher substrate loadings. Molecular analysis of the biomass revealed that variable process kinetics could be correlated with parallel changes in the composition of the microbial community, mainly by a replacement mechanism, where newer species, better adapted to the new growth conditions, substituted others that are washed out from the system.

Chronic impact of tetracycline on the biodegradation of an organic substrate mixture under anaerobic conditions.

The study evaluates the chronic impact of the antibiotic tetracycline on the biodegradation of organic substrate under anaerobic conditions. The experiments involved an anaerobic sequencing batch reactor fed with a synthetic substrate mixture including glucose, starch and volatile fatty acids, and operated in a sequence of different phases with gradually increasing tetracycline doses of 1.65-8.5 mg/L, for more than five months. Tetracycline exerted a terminal/lethal effect at 8.5 mg/L on the microbial community under anaerobic conditions, which caused the inhibition of substrate/COD utilization and biogas generation and leading to a total collapse of the reactor. The microbial activity could not be recovered and re-started within a period of more than 10 days, even after stopping tetracycline dosing. At lower doses, substrate utilization was not affected but a reduction of 10-20% was observed in the biogas/methane generation, suggesting that substrate utilization of tetracycline to the biomass was limiting their bioavailability. During the experiments, tetracycline was partially removed either through biodegradation or conversion into its by-products. The adverse long-term impact was quite variable for fermenting heterotrophic and methanogenic fractions of the microbial community based on changes inflicted on the composition of remaining/residual organic substrate.

Model evaluation of starch utilization by acclimated biomass with different culture history under pulse and continuous feeding.

The study involved model evaluation of the fate and utilization of starch by microbial culture acclimated to different growth conditions and feeding regimes. For this purpose, parallel sequencing batch reactors were operated with pulse and continuous feeding of soluble starch at sludge ages of 8 and 2 days. High-rate adsorption was identified as the initial process for starch utilization under all operating conditions. Hydrolysis mechanism acted as the rate limiting mechanism for different substrate removal/storage modes sustained under pulse and continuous feeding at different sludge ages. Together with variable growth kinetics, faster growth conditions also triggered high-rate hydrolysis and relatively slower storage kinetics to ensure the level of substrate supply for faster microbial growth. Model evaluation indicated the presence of particulate sugar adsorbed, especially under continuous feeding. It enabled accurate interpretation of observed particulate sugar values and this way, differentiating glycogen from the adsorbed starch remaining on the biomass.