A Light Touch: Solar Photocatalysis Detoxifies Oil Sands Process-Affected Waters Prior to Significant Treatment of Naphthenic Acids.

Environmental reclamation of Canada's oil sands tailings ponds is among the single largest water treatment challenges globally. The toxicity of oil sands process-affected water (OSPW) has been associated with its dissolved organics, a complex mixture of naphthenic acid fraction components (NAFCs). Here, we evaluated solar treatment with buoyant photocatalysts (BPCs) as a passive advanced oxidation process (P-AOP) for OSPW remediation. Photocatalysis fully degraded naphthenic acids (NAs) and acid extractable organics (AEO) in 3 different OSPW samples. However, classical NAs and AEO, traditionally considered among the principal toxicants in OSPW, were not correlated with OSPW toxicity herein. Instead, nontarget petroleomic analysis revealed that low-polarity organosulfur compounds, composing <10% of the total AEO, apparently accounted for the majority of waters' toxicity to fish, as described by a model of tissue partitioning. These findings have implications for OSPW release, for which a less extensive but more selective treatment may be required than previously expected.

A review of emerging membrane-based microalgal-bacterial processes for wastewater treatment: Process configurations, biological and membrane performance, and perspectives.

Microalgal-bacterial (MB) consortia create an excellent eco-system for simultaneous COD/BOD and nutrients (N and P) removals in a single step with significant reduction in or complete elimination of aeration and carbonation in the biological wastewater treatment processes. The integration of membrane separation technology with the MB processes has created a new paradigm for research and development. This paper focuses on a comprehensive and critical literature review of recent advances in these emerging processes. Novel membrane process configurations and process conditions affecting the biological performance of these novel systems have been systematically reviewed and discussed. Membrane fouling issues and control of MB biofilm formation and thickness associated with these emerging suspended growth or immobilized biofilm processes are addressed and discussed. The research gaps, challenges, outlooks of these emerging processes are identified and discussed in-depth. The findings from the literature suggest that the membrane-based MB processes are advanced biotechnologies with a significant reduction in energy consumption and process simplification and high process efficiency that are not achievable with current technologies in wastewater treatment. There are endless opportunities for research and development of these novel and emerging membrane-based MB processes.

Roles of pH and phosphate in rare earth element biosorption with living acidophilic microalgae.

The increasing demand for rare earth elements (REEs) has spurred interest in the development of recovery methods from aqueous waste streams. Acidophilic microalgae have gained attention for REE biosorption as they can withstand high concentrations of transition metals and do not require added organic carbon to grow, potentially allowing simultaneous sorption and self-replication of the sorbent. Here, we assessed the potential of Galdieria sulphuraria for REE biosorption under acidic, nutrient-replete conditions from solutions containing ≤ 15 ppm REEs. Sorption at pH 1.5-2.5 (the growth optimum of G. sulphuraria) was poor but improved up to 24-fold at pH 5.0 in phosphate-free conditions. Metabolic activity had a negative impact on REE sorption, additionally challenging the feasibility of REE biosorption under ideal growth conditions for acidophiles. We further examined the possibility of REE biosorption in the presence of phosphate for biomass growth at elevated pH (pH ≥ 2.5) by assessing aqueous La concentrations in various culture media. Three days after adding La into the media, dissolved La concentrations were up to three orders of magnitude higher than solubility predictions due to supersaturation, though LaPO4 precipitation occurred under all conditions when seed was added. We concluded that biosorption should occur separately from biomass growth to avoid REE phosphate precipitation. Furthermore, we demonstrated the importance of proper control experiments in biosorption studies to assess potential interactions between REEs and matrix ions such as phosphates. KEY POINTS: • REE biosorption with G. sulphuraria increases significantly when raising pH to 5 • Phosphate for biosorbent growth has to be supplied separately from biosorption • Biosorption studies have to assess potential matrix effects on REE behavior.

Determining the performance of lignin-based flocculants in improving biosludge dewaterability.

In the wastewater treatment plant of pulp and paper mills, biosludge dewatering is needed to reduce the sludge handling and disposal costs. It is usually facilitated by means of the addition of synthetic polymers. There is increasing interest in replacing synthetic polymers with biopolymers derived from low value by-products or industrial residuals to improve the environmental footprint of dewatering. In this study, lignin-based flocculants (LBF) were tested for their ability to improve the biosludge dewaterability based on Capillary Suction Time (CST) and dry cake solids achieved with a Crown Press. The results demonstrate that LBFs alone can significantly enhance dewatering with a decrease in CSTs from 72.7 ± 5.1 s (unconditioned biosludge) to 23.3 ± 0.4 s and an increase in dry cake solids after pressing from 7.1 ± 0.5% to 13.9 ± 1.3% with a relatively high dosage of 7.5% w/w. However, with dual conditioning a LBF and 0.1% w/w anionic polyacrylamide (APAM), the required dosage of LBF was reduced to 3% w/w to achieve a dry cake solids content of 13.8 ± 0.4%, the same as that achieved with Zetag8165, a commercial synthetic polymer. LBF addition lowered the particle surface charge, allowing the particles to agglomerate and enhancing for the biosludge dewaterability. The application of LBFs for sludge dewatering offers novel considerable promise for providing more sustainable approaches by optimizing the use of lignin from different extraction processes, applying various types of lignin modifications in combination with anionic polymers, and exploring different methods of disposal or utilization of the dewatered sludge.

Enhancing Biosludge Dewaterability with Hemoglobin from Waste Blood as a Bioflocculant.

Synthetic polymers are widely used in the treatment of biosludge (waste activated sludge) to enhance its dewaterability. This paper discusses the results of a systematic study using hemoglobin (Hb) from animal blood and methylated hemoglobin (MeHb), a derivative in which a methyl group replaces the hydrogen carboxyl groups, to replace synthetic polymers to improve the dewatering efficiency of biosludge. With regular hemoglobin, no improvement in biosludge dewatering was found. With 10% of methylated hemoglobin per total solids content, however, the dry solids content of biosludge increased from 10.2 (±0.3) wt% to 15.0 (±1.0) wt%. Zeta potential measurements showed a decrease in the negative surface charge of the particles in biosludge from -34.3 (±3.2) mV to -19.0 (±2.1) mV after the treatment with methylated hemoglobin. This, along with an unchanged particle size distribution after conditioning, suggests that charge neutralization is likely the main cause of particle flocculation. With charges neutralized, the extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) around the biosludge flocs become loose, releasing the trapped water, thus increasing dewaterability.

Engineering Photosynthetic Bioprocesses for Sustainable Chemical Production: A Review.

Microbial production of chemicals using renewable feedstocks such as glucose has emerged as a green alternative to conventional chemical production processes that rely primarily on petroleum-based feedstocks. The carbon footprint of such processes can further be reduced by using engineered cells that harness solar energy to consume feedstocks traditionally considered to be wastes as their carbon sources. Photosynthetic bacteria utilize sophisticated photosystems to capture the energy from photons to generate reduction potential with such rapidity and abundance that cells often cannot use it fast enough and much of it is lost as heat and light. Engineering photosynthetic organisms could enable us to take advantage of this energy surplus by redirecting it toward the synthesis of commercially important products such as biofuels, bioplastics, commodity chemicals, and terpenoids. In this work, we review photosynthetic pathways in aerobic and anaerobic bacteria to better understand how these organisms have naturally evolved to harness solar energy. We also discuss more recent attempts at engineering both the photosystems and downstream reactions that transfer reducing power to improve target chemical production. Further, we discuss different methods for the optimization of photosynthetic bioprocess including the immobilization of cells and the optimization of light delivery. We anticipate this review will serve as an important resource for future efforts to engineer and harness photosynthetic bacteria for chemical production.

Specific quantification of Scenedesmus obliquus and Chlorella vulgaris in mixed-species algal biofilms.

Two TaqMan® qPCR assays were developed to specifically quantify the absolute abundance of Scenedesmus obliquus and Chlorella vulgaris in mixed-species algal biofilms by targeting the psbA gene. Standard curves were developed with amplification efficiencies of 92.4% and 96.6% for S. obliquus and C. vulgaris, respectively, and an R2 value of 0.99 for both. Calibration curves for estimating absolute cell abundances resulted in slopes of 0.98 and 1.11 for C. vulgaris and S. obliquus, respectively, and an R2 value of 0.95 for both. The assays were applied to cultivated mixed-species biofilms and approximately 107 cells of each algal species were quantified when 107 cells were added into biofilms. The developed qPCR assays were concluded to be specific and accurate for the quantification of S. obliquus and C. vulgaris in mixed-species biofilms. This will contribute to the control and optimization of algal cultivation systems for the production of algal biofuels and bioproducts.

Evaluating the effect of enzymatic pretreatment on the anaerobic digestibility of pulp and paper biosludge.

Anaerobic digestion of biosludge has not yet been implemented in pulp mills due to low biogas yields. Enzymatic pretreatment of biosludge has shown improvements in biogas yields but results are varied. A key limitation of previous studies is that they fail to consider the COD contribution from the enzyme solutions. The aim of this study was to systematically investigate the potential for enzymatic pretreatment on the anaerobic digestibility of pulp mill biosludge. Out of the six enzymes tested, four enhanced the anaerobic digestibility of biosludge. At the end of the BMP, a maximum improvement of 26% in biogas yield was observed with protease from B. licheniformis. There was no correlation between enzymatic activities on standard substrates and/or on biosludge and the effect of enzymes on biogas yields. Enzymes have potential for improving biosludge anaerobic digestibility but more research on optimal conditions and potential synergies with other pretreatment is needed.

Improved biomass productivity in algal biofilms through synergistic interactions between photon flux density and carbon dioxide concentration.

Algal biofilms were grown to investigate the interaction effects of bulk medium CO2 concentration and photon flux density (PFD) on biomass productivities. When increasing the CO2 concentration from 0.04% to 2%, while maintaining a PFD of 100µmol/m(2)/s, biomass productivities increased from ∼0.5 to 2.0g/m(2)/d; however, the productivities plateaued when CO2 concentrations were incrementally increased above 2-12%. Statistical analysis demonstrates that there is a significant interaction between PFD and CO2 concentrations on biomass productivities. By simultaneously increasing PFD and CO2 concentrations, biomass productivities were significantly increased to 4.0 and 4.1g/m(2)/d in the experimental and modeled data, respectively. The second order model predicted increases in biomass productivities as both PFD and CO2 simultaneously increased yielding an optimum at 440µmol/m(2)/s and 7.1%; however, when conditions were extended to the highest end of their respective ranges, the conditions were detrimental to growth and productivities decreased.

Enhancing pulp and paper mill biosludge dewaterability using enzymes.

There have been limited studies on the potential use of enzymes for enhancing the dewaterability of biosludge. The mechanisms for such enhancement have not been investigated despite the environmental advantages of using enzymes over synthetic polymers for biosludge conditioning. In order to find enzymes with this potential, a screening of commercially available enzymes was carried out using capillary suction time to assess biosludge dewaterability. The only enzyme that showed dewatering improvements in the screening tests was a lysozyme which reduced the capillary suction time by 36% and increased the cake solids content from 5.6 to 8.9 DS%. Lysozyme aided in the flocculation of particles reducing the polymer demand from 11% to 6%. Active and inactive lysozyme exhibited a similar ability for enhancing sludge dewatering, indicating that the conditioning mechanism of lysozyme is similar to that of a flocculant.

The effect of light direction and suspended cell concentrations on algal biofilm growth rates.

Algae biofilms were grown in a semicontinuous flat plate biofilm photobioreactor to study the effects of light direction and suspended algal cell populations on algal biofilm growth. It was determined that, under the growth conditions and biofilm thicknesses studied, light direction had no effect on long-term algal biofilm growth (26 days); however, light direction did affect the concentration of suspended algal cells by influencing the photon flux density in the growth medium in the photobioreactors. This suspended algal cell population affected short-term (7 days) algae cell recruitment and algal biofilm growth, but additional studies showed that enhanced suspended algal cell populations did not affect biofilm growth rates over the long term (26 days). Studying profiles of light transmittance through biofilms as they grew showed that most of the light became attenuated by the biomass after just a few days of growth (88 % after 3 days). The estimated biofilm thicknesses after these few days of growth were approximately 150 µm. The light attenuation data suggests that, although the biofilms grew to 700-900 µm, under these light intensities, only the first few hundred micrometers of the biofilm is receiving enough light to be photosynthetically active. We postulate that this photosynthetically active layer of the biofilm grows adjacent to the light source, while the rest of the biofilm is in a stationary growth phase. The results of this study have implications for algal biofilm photobioreactor design and operation.

Algae biofilm growth and the potential to stimulate lipid accumulation through nutrient starvation.

An algae biofilm growth system was developed to study the growth kinetics and neutral lipid productivities of Scenedesmus obliquus and Nitzschia palea, and to determine if algal biofilms can be starved of key nutrients to increase their neutral lipid concentrations. Linear growth curves were determined for each species until nutrient starvation commenced, at which point growth ceased and/or biofilms sloughed from their substratum. Nutrient starvation did not increase neutral lipid concentrations in any of the biofilms; however, it approximately doubled their lipid concentrations when grown in suspension. Biomass productivities of 2.8 and 2.1g/m(2)/d and lipid productivities of 0.45 and 0.18 g/m(2)/d were determined for N. palea and S. obliquus, respectively. The results suggest that nutrient starvation of biofilms is not a desirable method of lipid production for algae biofilm biofuel production systems, but that lipid production rates compare favorably with conventional terrestrial biofuel sources.

Species and material considerations in the formation and development of microalgal biofilms.

The development of microalgal biofilms has received very limited study despite its relevance in the design of photobioreactors where film growth may be advantageous for biomass separation or disadvantageous in fouling surfaces. Here, the effects of species selection, species control, and substrate properties on biofilms of Scenedesmus obliquus and Chlorella vulgaris were investigated. Experiments were conducted in batch culture and in continuous culture modes in a flow cell. Cell growth was monitored using confocal laser scanning microscopy and gravimetrically. Species selection and species control had significant effects on biofilm development. On non-sterile wastewater, C. vulgaris shifted from primarily planktonic (23.7% attachment) to primarily sessile (79.8% attachment) growth. The biofilms that developed in non-sterile conditions were thicker (52 ± 19 µm) than those grown in sterile conditions (7 ± 6 µm). By contrast, S. obliquus attained similar thicknesses (54 ± 31 and 53 ± 38 µm) in both sterile and non-sterile conditions. Neither species was able to dominate a non-sterile biofilm. The effect of substrate surface properties was minimal. Both species grew films of similar thickness (approximately 30 µm for S. obliquus, < 10 µm for C. vulgaris) on materials ranging from hydrophilic (glass) to hydrophobic (polytetrafluoroethylene). Surface roughness created by micropatterning the surface with 10 µm grooves did not translate into long-term increases in biofilm thickness. The results indicate that species selection and control are more important than surface properties in the development of microalgal biofilms.

Composition of activated sludge settling and planktonic bacterial communities treating industrial effluent and their correlation to settling problems.

Problems with deflocculation and solids separation in biological wastewater treatment systems are linked to fluctuations in physicochemical conditions. This study examined the composition of activated sludge bacterial communities in lab-scale sequencing batch reactors treating bleached kraft mill effluent, under transient temperature conditions (30 to 45 °C) and their correlation to sludge settleability problems. The bacterial community composition of settled and planktonic biomass samples in the reactors was monitored via denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis of 16S ribosomal RNA gene fragments. Our analysis showed that settled biomass has a different community composition from the planktonic biomass (49 ± 7% difference based on Jaccard similarity coefficients; p < 0.01). During times of poor sludge compression, the settled and planktonic biomass became more similar. This observation supports the hypothesis that settling problems observed were due to deflocculation of normally settling flocs rather than the outgrowth of non-settling bacterial species.

Growth kinetics of Hyphomicrobium and Thiobacillus spp. in mixed cultures degrading dimethyl sulfide and methanol.

The growth kinetics of Hyphomicrobium spp. and Thiobacillus spp. on dimethyl sulfide (DMS) and methanol (in the case of Hyphomicrobium spp.) in an enrichment culture created from a biofilter cotreating DMS and methanol were studied. Specific growth rates of 0.099 h(-1) and 0.11 h(-1) were determined for Hyphomicrobium spp. and Thiobacillus spp., respectively, growing on DMS at pH 7. These specific growth rates are double the highest maximum specific growth rate for bacterial growth on DMS reported to date in the literature. When the pH of the medium was decreased from pH 7 to pH 5, the specific growth rate of Hyphomicrobium spp. decreased by 85%, with a near 100-fold decline in the yield of Hyphomicrobium 16S rRNA gene copies in the mixed culture. Through the same pH shift, the specific growth rate and 16S rRNA gene yield of Thiobacillus spp. remained similar. When methanol was used as a substrate, the specific growth rate of Hyphomicrobium spp. declined much less over the same pH range (up to 30%) while the yield of 16S rRNA gene copies declined by only 50%. Switching from an NH(4)(+)-N-based source to a NO(3)(-)-N-based source resulted in the same trends for the specific growth rate of these microorganisms with respect to pH. This suggests that pH has far more impact on the growth kinetics of these microorganisms than the nitrogen source. The results of these mixed-culture batch experiments indicate that the increased DMS removal rates observed in previous studies of biofilters cotreating DMS and methanol are due to the proliferation of DMS-degrading Hyphomicrobium spp. on methanol at pH levels not conducive to high growth rates on DMS alone.

Alkaline extraction of wastewater activated sludge biosolids.

Activated sludge produced by wastewater treatment facilities are a sub-utilized by-product whose handling and disposal represent significant costs to these facilities. In this work, we introduced a simple and effective alkaline extraction technique that extracts up to 75% of the sludge's organic matter into a liquor containing potentially useful organic material (proteins, carbohydrates, etc.). The results suggest that at pH 11 and above, cell lysis occurs, liberating substantial quantities of organic material into the alkaline solution. When compared to a cation exchange resin (CER) extraction developed for analytical purposes, the alkaline extraction recovered 3x more organic material. The alkaline extract was highly surface active, despite containing a relatively small fraction of lipids. At pH 12 and above the lipid fraction was enriched with C15-C16 fatty acid residues, likely associated with cell membrane phospholipids as suggested by nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy ((31)P NMR). Size exclusion chromatography studies show that the extract is enriched with biopolymers or assemblies of molecular weights in the order of tens of thousands of Daltons. Potential uses for the extract are discussed.

Linking performance to microbiology in biofilters treating dimethyl sulphide in the presence and absence of methanol.

The performance and microbiology of two inorganic biofilters treating dimethyl sulphide (DMS) in the presence and absence of methanol was investigated. Addition of methanol was shown to result in an increase in DMS removal for methanol loadings below 90 g MeOH per cubic metre per hour with the optimal methanol loading around 10-15 g MeOH per cubic metre per hour for a DMS loading of 3.4 g DMS per cubic metre per hour, a fivefold increase in the DMS removal rate compared to the biofilter treating DMS alone. Microbial community analysis revealed that the addition of methanol led to a significant increase of up to an order of magnitude in the abundance of Hyphomicrobium spp. in the biofilter co-treating DMS and methanol compared to the biofilter treating DMS alone, whilst there was no significant difference in the abundance of Thiobacillus spp. between the two biofilters. Given the behaviour of the biofilter co-treating DMS and methanol, the magnitude of the increase in Hyphomicrobium spp. in the biofilter co-treating DMS and methanol and the ability of Hyphomicrobium spp. to use both methanol and DMS as growth substrates, it was concluded that Hyphomicrobium spp. were the microorganisms responsible for the bulk of the DMS degradation in the biofilter co-treating DMS and methanol.

Modeling the biofiltration of dimethyl sulfide in the presence of methanol in inorganic biofilters at steady state.

The presence of methanol (MeOH) improves DMS removal (up to 11-fold) by enhancing biomass growth in inorganic biofilters. Although the overall effect is positive, prolonged growth on methanol also negatively affects DMS degradation as a result of competition with DMS. The objectives of this study were to explore the potential to optimize DMS removal with methanol addition and to develop and experimentally validate a mathematical model describing the biofiltration of DMS in the presence of MeOH. Continuous experiments using three bench-scale biofilters packed with inorganic material were performed to examine the removal of DMS under different MeOH addition rates ranging from 0 to 140 g/m3/h. For a constant DMS loading of 3.5 g/m3/h, a maximum DMS removal rate of 1.8 g/m3/h was achieved at a MeOH addition rate of 20 g/m3/h in the inorganic biofilters. A steady-state model incorporating the competitive and activation effects of MeOH on DMS biodegradation was developed, and the modeled results on DMS and MeOH removal were in close agreement with experimental data. Both the experimental data and model simulation suggest that there is an optimum MeOH addition rate for a given DMS loading. A step-feeding strategy for MeOH addition was proposed and tested by the model to optimize DMS removal. The model-predicted results demonstrate that six-step feeding of MeOH enhances DMS treatment by 46% in the biofilters when compared to conventional feeding (one-step) of MeOH at the same total mass loading.

Effect of methanol on pH and stability of inorganic biofilters treating dimethyl sulfide.

The biofiltration of dimethyl sulfide (DMS) and other reduced sulfur compounds (RSC) results in acidification of biofilters due to the accumulation of the sulfuric acid in packing material. This may lead to a decrease in biofilter performance due to a drop in pH. Results obtained from continuous experiments using three bench-scale biofilters packed with inorganic material mixed with limestone show that methanol (MeOH) alleviates the pH drop and enhances the stability of biofilter performance and DMS removal. The pH drop in the biofilters treating DMS with MeOH is 4 fold slower than that in the control biofiler treating DMS only. For the biofilters with MeOH addition, the pH of the biofilters drops more gradually (0.044 pH units per day) when compared to the MeOH suspension periods when MeOH is not added (0.23 pH units per day). MeOH addition consumes oxygen and results in a lower conversion ratio of sulfide to sulfuric acid due to the formation of elemental sulfur, reducing acidification in the biofilters. Nitrification was found to be actively taking place in the control biofilter treating DMS without MeOH addition, contributing to the significant pH drop in the reactor. It is proposed that MeOH prevents acid production from nitrification likely by limiting oxygen and nutrients to nitrifying bacteria in the MeOH-fed biofilters.

Effects of transient temperature conditions on the divergence of activated sludge bacterial community structure and function.

The effect of temperature fluctuations on bacterial community structure and function in lab-scale sequencing batch reactors treating bleached kraft mill effluent was investigated. An increase in temperature from 30 to 45 degrees C caused shifts in both bacterial community structure and function. Triplicate reactors were highly similar for 40 days following startup. After the temperature shift, their community structure and function started to diverge from each other and from the control. A multi-response permutation procedure confirmed that the variability in community structure between transient and control reactors were greater than that among the triplicate transient reactors. The fact that these disturbances manifest themselves in different ways in apparently identical reactors suggests a high degree of variability between replicate systems.