Electrochemical removal of nitrate in high-salt wastewater with low-cost iron electrode modified by phosphate.

Nitrate (NO3-) is a widespread pollutant in high-salt wastewater and causes serious harm to human health. Although electrochemical removal of nitrate has been demonstrated to be a promising treatment method, the development of low-cost electro-catalysts is still challenging. In this work, a phosphate modified iron (P-Fe) cathode was prepared for electrochemical removal of nitrate in high-salt wastewater. The phosphate modification greatly improved the activity of iron, and the removal rate of nitrate on P-Fe was three times higher than that on Fe electrode. Further experiments and density functional theory (DFT) calculations demonstrated that the modification of phosphoric acid improved the stability and the activity of the zero-valent iron electrode effectively for NO3- removal. The nitrate was firstly electrochemically reduced to ammonium, and then reacted with the anodic generated hypochlorite to N2. In this study, a strategy was developed to improve the activity and stability of metal electrode for NO3- removal, which opened up a new field for the efficient reduction of NO3- removal by metal electrode materials.

Evaluation of the shear stability of aerobic granular sludge from a pilot-scale membrane bioreactor: Establishment of a quantitative method.

This work established a quantitative method to access the shear stability of aerobic granular sludge (AGS) and validated its feasibility by using the mature AGS from a pilot-scale (50 tons/day) membrane bioreactor (MBR) for treating real municipal wastewater. The results showed that the changing rate (ΔS) of the peak area (S) of granule size distribution (GSD) exhibited an exponential relationship (R2≥0.76) with the shear time (y=a-b·cx), which was a suitable indicative index to reflect the shear stability of different AGS samples. The limiting granule size (LGS) was defined and proposed to characterize the equilibrium size for AGS after being sheared for a period of time, whose value in terms of Dv50 showed high correlation (R2=0.92) with the parameter a. The free Ca2+ (28.44-34.21 mg/L) in the influent specifically interacted with polysaccharides (PS) in the granule's extracellular polymeric substance (EPS) as a nucleation site, thereby inducing the formation of Ca precipitation to enhance its Young's modulus, while Ca2+ primarily interacted with PS in soluble metabolic product (SMP) during the initial granulation process. Furthermore, the Young's modulus significantly affected the parameter a related to shear stability (R2=0.99). Since the parameter a was more closely related (R2=1.00) to ΔS than that of the parameter b or c, the excellent correlation (R2=0.99) between the parameter a and the wet density further verified the feasibility of this method.

Effect of surface species on the alcohol-acid adsorption from FTS wastewater on graphene: A structure-capacity study.

Fischer-Tropsch synthesis (FTS) wastewater retaining low-carbon alcohols and acids are organic pollutants as a limiting factor for FTS industrialization. In this work, the structure-capacity relationships between alcohol-acid adsorption and surface species on graphene were reported, shedding light into their intricate interactions. The graphene oxide (GO) and reduced graphene oxide (rGO) were synthesized via improved Hummers method with flake graphite (G). The physicochemical properties of samples were characterized via SEM, XRD, XPS, FT-IR, and Raman. The alcohol-acid adsorption behaviors and adsorption quantities on G, GO, and rGO were measured via theoretical and experimental method. It was revealed that the presence of COOH, C=O and CO species on graphene occupy the adsorption sites and increase the interactions of water with graphene, which are unfavorable for alcohol-acid adsorption. The equilibrium adsorption quantities of alcohols and acids grow in pace with carbon number. The monolayer adsorption occurs on graphene was verified via model fitting. rGO has the highest FTS modeling wastewater adsorption quantity (110 mg/g) due to the reduction of oxygen species. These novel findings provide a foundation for the alcohol-acid wastewater treatment, as well as the design and development of high-performance carbon-based adsorbent materials.

Combination of electrochemical advanced oxidation and biotreatment for wastewater treatment and soil remediation.

The global concern surrounding the advancement of methods for treating wastewater and polluted soil has markedly increased over time. While electrochemical advanced oxidation processes (EAOPs) and biotreatments are commonly employed technologies for remediating wastewater and polluted soil, their widespread adoption is hindered by their limitations, which include high costs associated with EAOPs and prolonged remediation time of biotreatments. In the review, we provided an overview of EAOP technology and biotreatment, emphasizing the critical aspects involved in building a combined system. This review systematically evaluates recent research that combines EAOPs with bioremediation for treating wastewater or contaminated soil as pretreatment or post-treatment process. Research findings suggest that the combined treatment method represents a promising and competitive technology that can overcome some of the limitations of individual treatments. Additionally, we discussed the potential applications of this technology in varying levels of wastewater and soil pollution, as well as the underlying combination mechanisms.

Seasonal changes of chemodiversity along with microbial succession in a municipal wastewater treatment plant.

The relationship between chemodiversity and microbial succession in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) is highly intricate and bidirectional. The specific contribution of the microbial community to changes in the composition of dissolved organic matter (DOM) within different biological treatment units remains unclear, as does the reciprocal influence of DOM composition on microbial succession. In this study, spectroscopy ((Excitation-emission matrix) EEM-PARAFAC, Ultraviolet (UV)-spectrum, Fourier transform infrared spectrometer (FT-IR)), Liquid chromatograph mass spectrometer (LC‒MS) and Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance (FT-ICR) MS along with high-throughput sequencing technology were used to explore the relationship between chemodiversity and microbial succession in WWTPs concerning seasonal changes. The results showed that WWTPs with anaerobic/anoxic/oxic (A2O) processes can metabolize and transform most of the wastewater DOM, and the anaerobic unit has the highest removal rate for fluorescence DOM (FDOM, 14.07%-64.43%); the anaerobic unit increased aliphatic/proteins and lignin-like molecules but decreased relative intensity, while the anoxic unit removed unsaturated hydrocarbons, aromatic structures, and lignin-like substances. The impact of seasonal changes on the composition and removal of FDOM and DOM in wastewater treatment is significant, and the variations that occur during different seasons affect microbial activity, as well as the production, degradation, and transformation of organic compounds throughout the wastewater treatment process. Network analysis shows that Parcubacteria_genera_incertae_sedis plays a crucial role in DOM chemodiversity, highlighting the crucial contribution of microbial communities to both the structure and operation of the entire DOM network. The results in this study could provide some theoretical and practical basis for guiding the process optimization of WWTPs.

Efficient chlorination reaction of Pt/RuO2/g-C3N4 under visible light irradiation for simultaneous removal of ammonia and bacteria from mariculture wastewater.

The removal of ammonia nitrogen (NH4+-N) and bacteria from aquaculture wastewater holds paramount ecological and production significance. In this study, Pt/RuO2/g-C3N4 photocatalysts were prepared by depositing Pt and RuO2 particles onto g-C3N4. The physicochemical properties of photocatalysts were explored by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and UV-vis diffuse reflectance spectrometer (UV-vis DRS). The photocatalysts were then applied to the removal of both NH4+-N and bacteria from simulated mariculture wastewater. The results clarified that the removals of both NH4+-N and bacteria were in the sequence of g-C3N4 < RuO2/g-C3N4 < Pt/g-C3N4 < Pt/RuO2/g-C3N4. This magnificent photocatalytic ability of Pt/RuO2/g-C3N4 can be interpreted by the transfer of holes from g-C3N4 to RuO2 to facilitate the in situ generation of HClO from Cl- in wastewater, while Pt extracts photogenerated electrons for H2 formation to enhance the reaction. The removal of NH4+-N and disinfection effect were more pronounced in simulated seawater than in pure water. The removal efficiency of NH4+-N increases with an increase in pH of wastewater, while the bactericidal effect was more significant under a lower pH in a pH range of 6-9. In actual seawater aquaculture wastewater, Pt/RuO2/g-C3N4 still exhibits effective removal efficiency of NH4+-N and bactericidal performance under sunlight. This study provides an alternative avenue for removement of NH4+-N and bacteria from saline waters under sunlight.

The photocatalytic wastewater hydrogen production process with superior performance to the overall water splitting.

The utilization of a cost-free sacrificial agent is a novel approach to significantly enhance the efficiency of photocatalytic hydrogen (H2) production by water splitting. Wastewater contains various organic pollutants, which have the potential to be used as hole sacrificial agents to promote H2 production. Our studies on different pollutants reveals that not all pollutants can effectively promote H2 production. However, when using the same pollutants, not all photocatalysts achieved a higher H2 evolution rate than pure water. Only when the primary oxidizing active species of the photocatalyst are •OH radicals, which are generated by photogenerated holes, and when the pollutants are easily attacked and degraded by •OH radicals, can the production of H2 be effectively promoted. It is noteworthy that the porous brookite TiO2 photocatalyst exhibits a significantly higher H2 evolution rate in Reactive Red X-3B and Congo Red, reaching as high as 26.46 mmol⋅g-1⋅h-1 and 32.85 mmol⋅g-1 ⋅h-1, respectively, which is 2-3 times greater than that observed in pure water and is 10 times greater than most reported studies. The great significance of this work lies in the potential for efficient H2 production through the utilization of wastewater.

The profound review of Fenton process: What's the next step?

Fenton and Fenton-like processes, which could produce highly reactive species to degrade organic contaminants, have been widely used in the field of wastewater treatment. Therein, the chemistry of Fenton process including the nature of active oxidants, the complicated reactions involved, and the behind reason for its strongly pH-dependent performance, is the basis for the application of Fenton and Fenton-like processes in wastewater treatment. Nevertheless, the conflicting views still exist about the mechanism of the Fenton process. For instance, reaching a unanimous consensus on the nature of active oxidants (hydroxyl radical or tetravalent iron) in this process remains challenging. This review comprehensively examined the mechanism of the Fenton process including the debate on the nature of active oxidants, reactions involved in the Fenton process, and the behind reason for the pH-dependent degradation of contaminants in the Fenton process. Then, we summarized several strategies that promote the Fe(II)/Fe(III) cycle, reduce the competitive consumption of active oxidants by side reactions, and replace the Fenton reagent, thus improving the performance of the Fenton process. Furthermore, advances for the future were proposed including the demand for the high-accuracy identification of active oxidants and taking advantages of the characteristic of target contaminants during the degradation of contaminants by the Fenton process.

Effects of salinity and betaine addition on anaerobic granular sludge properties and microbial community succession patterns in organic saline wastewater.

In this study, the effects of different salinity gradients and addition of compatible solutes on anaerobic treated effluent water qualities, sludge characteristics and microbial communities were investigated. The increase in salinity resulted in a decrease in particle size of the granular sludge, which was concentrated in the range of 0.5-1.0 mm. The content of EPS (extracellular polymeric substances) in the granular sludge gradually increased with increasing salinity and the addition of betaine (a typical compatible solute). Meanwhile, the microbial community structure was significantly affected by salinity, with high salinity reducing the diversity of bacteria. At higher salinity, Patescibacteria and Proteobacteria gradually became the dominant phylum, with relative abundance increasing to 13.53% and 12.16% at 20 g/L salinity. Desulfobacterota and its subordinate Desulfovibrio, which secrete EPS in large quantities, dominated significantly after betaine addition.Their relative abundance reached 13.65% and 7.86% at phylum level and genus level. The effect of these changes on the treated effluent was shown as the average chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal rate decreased from 82.10% to 79.71%, 78.01%, 68.51% and 64.55% when the salinity gradually increased from 2 g/L to 6, 10, 16 and 20 g/L. At the salinity of 20 g/L, average COD removal increased to 71.65% by the addition of 2 mmol/L betaine. The gradient elevated salinity and the exogenous addition of betaine played an important role in achieving stability of the anaerobic system in a highly saline environment, which provided a feasible strategy for anaerobic treatment of organic saline wastewater.

A review on reactive oxygen species-induced mechanism pathways of pharmaceutical waste degradation: Acetaminophen as a drug waste model.

Innately designed to induce physiological changes, pharmaceuticals are foreknowingly hazardous to the ecosystem. Advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) are recognized as a set of contemporary and highly efficient methods being used as a contrivance for the removal of pharmaceutical residues. Since reactive oxygen species (ROS) are formed in these processes to interact and contribute directly toward the oxidation of target contaminant(s), a profound insight regarding the mechanisms of ROS leading to the degradation of pharmaceuticals is fundamentally significant. The conceptualization of some specific reaction mechanisms allows the design of an effective and safe degradation process that can empirically reduce the environmental impact of the micropollutants. This review mainly deliberates the mechanistic reaction pathways for ROS-mediated degradation of pharmaceuticals often leading to complete mineralization, with a focus on acetaminophen as a drug waste model.

Disentangling microbial coupled fillers mechanisms for the permeable layer optimization process in multi-soil-layering systems.

The multi-soil-layering (MSL) systems is an emerging solution for environmentally-friendly and cost-effective treatment of decentralized rural domestic wastewater. However, the role of the seemingly simple permeable layer has been overlooked, potentially holding the breakthroughs or directions to addressing suboptimal nitrogen removal performance in MSL systems. In this paper, the mechanism among diverse substrates (zeolite, green zeolite and biological ceramsite) coupled microorganisms in different systems (activated bacterial powder and activated sludge) for rural domestic wastewater purification was investigated. The removal efficiencies performed by zeolite coupled with microorganisms within 3 days were 93.8% for COD, 97.1% for TP, and 98.8% for NH4+-N. Notably, activated sludge showed better nitrification and comprehensive performance than specialized nitrifying bacteria powder. Zeolite attained an impressive 89.4% NH4+-N desorption efficiency, with a substantive fraction of NH4+-N manifesting as exchanged ammonium. High-throughput 16S rRNA gene sequencing revealed that aerobic and parthenogenetic anaerobic bacteria dominated the reactor, with anaerobic bacteria conspicuously absent. And the heterotrophic nitrification-aerobic denitrification (HN-AD) process was significant, with the presence of denitrifying phosphorus-accumulating organisms (DPAOs) for simultaneous nitrogen and phosphorus removal. This study not only raises awareness about the importance of the permeable layer and enhances comprehension of the HN-AD mechanism in MSL systems, but also provides valuable insights for optimizing MSL system construction, operation, and rural domestic wastewater treatment.

Efficient magnetic capture of PE microplastic from water by PEG modified Fe3O4 nanoparticles: Performance, kinetics, isotherms and influence factors.

Due to their resistance to degradation, wide distribution, easy diffusion and potential uptake by organisms, microplastics (MPs) pollution has become a major environmental concern. In this study, PEG-modified Fe3O4 magnetic nanoparticles demonstrated superior adsorption efficiency against polyethylene (PE) microspheres compared to other adsorbents (bare Fe3O4, PEI/Fe3O4 and CA/Fe3O4). The maximum adsorption capacity of PE was found to be 2203 mg/g by adsorption isotherm analysis. PEG/Fe3O4 maintained a high adsorption capacity even at low temperature (5°C, 2163 mg/g), while neutral pH was favorable for MP adsorption. The presence of anions (Cl-, SO42-, HCO3-, NO3-) and of humic acids inhibited the adsorption of MPs. It is proposed that the adsorption process was mainly driven by intermolecular hydrogen bonding. Overall, the study demonstrated that PEG/Fe3O4 can potentially be used as an efficient control against MPs, thus improving the quality of the aquatic environment and of our water resources.

Combined high-rate contact stabilization and chemically enhanced primary treatment for enhanced recovery of organic matter and biogas from sewage.

This study examined integrating high-rate contact stabilization (HRCS) and chemically enhanced primary treatment (CEPT) for wastewater to improve the carbon recovery rate (CRR). Enhancing chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal efficiency was hypothesized to improve the CRR. The evaluation covered serial HRCS-CEPT, serial CEPT-HRCS, and single-stage carbon recovery (Single-CR). The COD removal efficiencies for individual HRCS and CEPT were 50.3 % and 56.2 %, respectively. The serial CEPT-HRCS system failed in the HRCS process due to poor settling, resulting in microbial washout. However, the serial HRCS-CEPT system achieved the highest COD removal efficiency (84.5 %). The Single-CR system exhibited the highest CRR of 0.780 ± 0.083 g-CODCH4/g-CODinf, identifying it as the most promising process for energy-positive wastewater treatment. The selective pressure in the high-rate system resulted in a simplified and specialized bacterial community, mainly comprising microorganisms with high polyhydroxyalkanoate storage capacity, such as Lactococcus sp., Enterobacter sp., and Acinetobacter sp.

Cadmium removal by constructed wetlands containing different substrates: performance, microorganisms and mechanisms.

This study compared the cadmium (Cd) removal performance of constructed wetlands (CWs), including gravel (G-CW), magnetite (M-CW), coconut shell (C-CW) and biochar (B-CW). C-CW exhibited superior removal efficiencies for Cd compared to other CWs, with efficiencies of 93.18 %.C-CW benefited from the rich organic matter of coconut shells and enhanced DO consumption levels, which facilitated microbial and plant removal of Cd. The total accumulation of Cd in the substrate increased from 9.16 mg/kg to 30.66 mg/kg. Concurrently, the percentage of Cd in the organic matter-bound and residue states increased from 20.52 % to 37.56 %, which effectively reduced the bioavailability of Cd. All CWs can ensure that the plant antioxidant system is not subjected to Cd stress. Saccharimonadales and Micropruina became the dominant genera in all CWs, exhibiting a high tolerance to Cd. This study provides new understanding and theoretical support for selecting substrates to effectively treat heavy metals wastewater with CWs.

Electrolysis of HTL-AP for Nutrient Recovery by Converting Cyclic Nitrogen to Nitrate-N Fertilizer.

Valorization of hydrothermal liquefaction aqueous phase (HTL-AP) can be achieved through its use as a nutrient source for lettuce production in hydroponic systems after being treated to reduce the nutrient imbalance for the plants. Removing nitrogen cyclic compounds in HTL-AP may impact the availability of some nutrients, such as nitrate-N, that are necessary for plant growth. Previous studies indicate that electrolysis enables nitrate-N accumulation in algal-HTL-AP. In this study, HTL-AP derived from food waste was electrolyzed to convert available nitrogenous compounds into nitrogen forms that are preferred by plants such as nitrate-N. Biochemical properties were assessed for the HTL-AP samples before and after two years of storage. Results from this study show that it is viable to convert heterocyclic amines in HTL-AP into inorganic nitrogen forms such as nitrite-N, nitrate-N, ammonia-N, and fatty acids. Specifically, this study showed that accumulation of 609 mg/L of nitrate-N in the HTL-AP with an initial concentration of 25 mg/L was achieved at the lowest current density. Additionally, electrolysis treatment removed 48% to 61% of COD from the HTL-AP at different current densities. Furthermore, water quality characterization before and after storage for two years showed decreased organic matter in the HTL-AP, leading to reduced inorganic nitrogen recovery. Overall, this study indicates that electrolysis can increase the concentration of inorganic nitrogen in the HTL-AP both before and after long-term storage.

Whole genome sequencing approaches for taxonomic profiling and evaluation of wastewater quality.

Tracking metagenomic abundance in wastewater is undoubtedly a powerful tool to detect emerging variants and improve community health. However, there are a few factors that limit environmental water-based genomic monitoring: sampling variability, incomplete coverage, genetic fragmentation, degradation, data analysis and interpretation. The decreasing costs of high-throughput sequencing and high-end supercomputers have increased the use and accuracy of genomic data for microbial detection and monitoring in wastewater samples within any given region. To better understand the microbial dynamics and to determine the target sequencing throughput required to establish taxa that may pose as bio-indicators of an epidemiological outbreak, wastewater samples were collected from distinct locations within the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates using appropriate sampling methods. A reference database of ~27,000 known species was developed and used for further analysis. The results showed that 15 % of data in each sample matched any of ~27,000 known bacterial, viral, fungal, or protozoan species. Despite the high fraction of unclassified data (85 %), more than 2000 species from >800 genera across >30 phyla were detected in each sample. Both 5 Gb and 10 Gb of sequenced data detected the top ~2000 species with highest abundance. Doubling the target sequencing throughput (i.e., 10 Gb vs 5 Gb) detected ~500 additional low-abundance species per sample however it did not affect the overall sample composition or translate into higher per-sample species diversity captured. There was a marginal increase in the number of species detected in each sample beyond 0.20 Gb of classified data. Overall, the results indicate that sequencing to a 3 Gb throughput detects nearly 95 % of all species in the samples.

Optimizing oxytetracycline removal from aqueous solutions using activated carbon from barley lignocellulosic wastes with isotherms and thermodynamic studies.

The excessive presence of antibiotics such as Oxytetracycline (OTC) in the wastewater has increased health problems due to their toxic impact on the aquatic ecosystem. Therefore, their removal has become an important topic. This study aims to produce high surface area-activated carbon derived from low-cost and environmentally friendly barley lignocellulosic wastes to remove OTC from aqueous solutions. The synthesized barley wastes-activated carbon (BW-AC) was characterized using Fourier-Transform Infrared spectroscopy, Thermal Gravimetric Analysis, X-ray diffraction analysis, N2 adsorption/desorption isotherms, and Scanning Electron Microscopy. A Central Composite Design under the Response Surface Methodology (CCD-RSM) was applied to optimize the operational parameters (adsorbent dosage, pH, OTC initial concentration, and contact time) affecting the adsorption capacity as the response factor. The optimum condition of OTC adsorption by BW-AC was the adsorbent dosage of 16.25 mg, pH of 8.25, initial concentration of 62.50 mg/L, and contact time of 23.46 min. An analysis of variance (ANOVA) was performed to investigate the significance of the designed quadratic model and evaluate the parameters interactions. The linear regression coefficient (R2) of 0.975 shows a good correlation between predicted and actual results. The adsorption isotherms were used to determine the contaminant distribution over the adsorbent surface, and the equilibrium data was best described by the Freundlich isotherm due to the R2 value of 0.99 compared to other isotherms and ß parameter of 0.23 in Redlich-Peterson equation. Moreover, the n value of 1.25 in Freundlich equation and E value of 0.31 in Dubinin-Radushkevich equation indicates a physical nature of adsorption process. According to the equations results, the maximum adsorption capacity of BW-AC for OTC removal was 500 mg/g, based on the Langmuir isotherm equation. In addition, the thermodynamic studies indicated an endothermic process based on the 0.31 value of ΔH° and spontaneous nature due to the negative amount of ΔG° within the temperature range of 288-318 K. Consequently, the prepared BW-AC can be deemed as a highly effective adsorbent with a large surface area, resulting in significant capacity for removing OTC. This synthesized BW-AC can serve as an environmentally friendly adsorbent for affordable wastewater treatment and is poised to make valuable contributions to future research in this field.

More than just the gene: Investigating expression using a non-native plasmid and host and its impact on resistance conferred by ß-lactamase OXA-58 isolated from a hospital wastewater microbiome.

With the escalation of hospital-acquired infections by multi-drug resistant bacteria, understanding antibiotic resistance is of paramount importance. This study focuses on the ß-lactamase gene, blaOXA-58, an important resistance determinant identified in a patient-facing hospital wastewater system. This study aimed to characterise the behaviour of the OXA-58 enzyme when expressed using a non-native plasmid and expression host. blaOXA-58 was cloned using a pET28a(+)/Escherichia coli BL21(DE3) expression system. Nitrocefin hydrolysis and antimicrobial susceptibility of OXA-58-producing cells were assessed against penicillin G, ampicillin, meropenem, and amoxicillin. blaOXA-58 conferred resistance to amoxicillin, penicillin G, and ampicillin, but not to meropenem. This was unexpected given OXA-58's annotation as a carbapenemase. The presence of meropenem also reduced nitrocefin hydrolysis, suggesting it acts as a competitive inhibitor of the OXA-58 enzyme. This study elucidates the phenotypic resistance conferred by an antimicrobial resistance gene (ARG) obtained from a clinically relevant setting and reveals that successful functional expression of ARGs is multifaceted. This study challenges the reliability of predicting antimicrobial resistance based solely on gene sequence alone, and serves as a reminder of the intricate interplay between genetics and structural factors in understanding resistance profiles across different host environments.

Nature based solutions for removal of steroid estrogens in wastewater.

Estrogens are a growing problem in wastewater discharges because they are continuously entering the environment and are biologically active at extremely low concentrations. Their effects on wildlife were first identified several decades before, but the environmental limits and the remedial measures are still not completely elucidated. Most conventional treatment processes were not designed with sufficiently long retention times to effectively remove estrogens. Nature-based wastewater treatment technologies such as treatment wetlands (TW) and high-rate algal ponds (HRAP) are economically feasible alternatives for decentralized wastewater treatment and have promise for removing steroid hormones including estrogens. For small communities with populations below 50,000, the overall cost of TWs and HRAPs is considerably lower than that of advanced decentralized treatment technologies such as activated sludge systems (AS) and sequencing batch reactors (SBR). This results from the simplicity of design, use of less materials in construction, lower energy use, operation and maintenance costs, and operation by non-skilled personnel. The nature-based technologies show high removal (>80%) for both natural and synthetic estrogens. Estrogen removal in TWs can be enhanced using alternative media such as palm mulch, biochar, and construction wastes such as bricks, instead of traditional substrates such as sand and gravel. While TWs are effective in estrogen removal, they have the disadvantage of requiring a relatively large footprint, but this can be reduced by using intensified multilayer wetland filters (IMWF). Using filamentous algae in HRAP (high-rate filamentous algal pond; HRFAP) is an emerging technology for wastewater treatment. The algae supply oxygen via photosynthesis and assimilate nutrients into readily harvestable filamentous algal biomass. Diurnal fluctuations in oxygen supply and pH in these systems provide conditions conducive to the breakdown of estrogens and a wide range of other emerging contaminants. The performance of these nature-based systems varies with seasonal changes in environmental conditions (particularly temperature and solar irradiation), however a greater understanding of operating conditions such as loading rate, hydraulic retention time (HRT), pond/bed depth, dissolved oxygen (DO) concentration and pH, which influence the removal mechanisms (biodegradation, sorption and photodegradation) enable TWs and HRAPs to be successfully used for removing estrogens.

Wastewater-based epidemiology for COVID-19 surveillance and beyond: A survey.

The pandemic of COVID-19 has imposed tremendous pressure on public health systems and social economic ecosystems over the past years. To alleviate its social impact, it is important to proactively track the prevalence of COVID-19 within communities. The traditional way to estimate the disease prevalence is to estimate from reported clinical test data or surveys. However, the coverage of clinical tests is often limited and the tests can be labor-intensive, requires reliable and timely results, and consistent diagnostic and reporting criteria. Recent studies revealed that patients who are diagnosed with COVID-19 often undergo fecal shedding of SARS-CoV-2 virus into wastewater, which makes wastewater-based epidemiology for COVID-19 surveillance a promising approach to complement traditional clinical testing. In this paper, we survey the existing literature regarding wastewater-based epidemiology for COVID-19 surveillance and summarize the current advances in the area. Specifically, we have covered the key aspects of wastewater sampling, sample testing, and presented a comprehensive and organized summary of wastewater data analytical methods. Finally, we provide the open challenges on current wastewater-based COVID-19 surveillance studies, aiming to encourage new ideas to advance the development of effective wastewater-based surveillance systems for general infectious diseases.