Combining pretreatments and co-fermentation as successful approach to improve biohydrogen production from dairy cow manure.

The present paper is focused on enhancing the production of biohydrogen (bioH2) from dairy cow manure (DCM) through dark fermentation (DF). Two enhancement production strategies have been tested: i) the combination of H2O2 with sonification as pretreatment and ii) the co-fermentation with cheese whey as co-substrate. Concerning the pretreatment, the best combination was investigated according to the response surface methodology (RSM) by varying H2O2 dosage between 0.0015 and 0.06 g/gTS and ultrasonic specific energy input (USEI) between 35.48 and 1419.36 J/gTS. The increase of carbohydrates concentration was used as target parameter. Results showed that the combination of 0.06 g/gTS of H2O2 with 1419.36 J/gTS of USEI maximized the concentration of carbohydrates. The optimized conditions were used to pretreat the substrate prior conducting DF tests. The use of pretreatment resulted in obtaining a cumulative bioH2 volume of 51.25 mL/L and enhanced the bioH2 production by 125% compared to the control test conducted using raw DCM. Moreover, the second strategy, i.e. co-fermentation with cheese whey (20% v/v) as co-substrate ended up to enhancing the DF performance as the bioH2 production reached a value of 334.90 mL/L with an increase of 1372% compared to the control DF test. To further improve the process, dark fermentation effluents (DFEs) were valorized via photo fermentation (PF), obtaining an additional hydrogen production aliquot.

Current emerging SARS-CoV-2 pandemic: Potential direct/indirect negative impacts of virus persistence and related therapeutic drugs on the aquatic compartments.

The purpose of the present work is to provide a complete overview of possible direct/indirect implications on the quality of aquatic compartments due to the recent SARS-CoV-2 outbreak. With this aim, the environmental impacts are mainly related to i) the virus persistence in sewage and wastewaters, and ii) possible fate in aquatic compartments of drugs tested and administered to SARS-CoV-2 infected patients. Because SARS-CoV-2 spread is very recent, and there is a lack of specific studies on this strain, the virus persistence in wastewaters, the parameters influencing the persistence, as well as the detection methodologies are referenced to the general coronaviruses group. However, the present detailed report of up-to-date knowledge on this topic can provide a useful source for further studies focusing on more deepened investigations of SARS-CoV-2 behaviour in the environment. Such a perspective is significant not only for the control of virus diffusion but also represents a crucial point for the identification of produced alteration to the environmental quality.

Simultaneous removal of Cr(III) from high contaminated soil and recovery of lactic acid from the spent solution.

It is proposed a closed-loop treatment cycle for Cr(III) removal from contaminated soils (2080 mg/kg). The treatment includes the use of lactic acid as washing agent, and the recovery of both Cr(II) and lactic acid from the spent solution. Results indicate that Cr(III) removal efficiency can be very high, passing 70% in all tested operative conditions. The metal forms strong complexes with lactic acid, and therefore cannot be eliminated through direct precipitation simply increasing the pH value. Therefore, lactic acid is preliminarily extracted from the solution using n-butanol at very acidic pH. The obtained extraction degree is generally high, varying between 0.5 and 1 according to the amount of used n-butanol solution. After lactic acid extraction, almost 100% of chromium can be recovered through precipitation in alkaline conditions. Lactic acid, in turns, can be purified and reused for a new washing treatment, separating it from n-butanol solution through water extraction. The extraction efficiency is once more satisfying (around 0.5), and not dependent on the operative pH.

Cerium and erbium effects on Daphnia magna generations: A multiple endpoints approach.

Cerium (Ce, CeCl3) and Erbium (Er, ErCl3) are increasingly used in many electronic devices facilitating the alteration of their biogeochemical cycles (e.g. e-waste). Previous surveys stated that their environmental concentrations due to natural or anthropogenic events can reach up to 161 µg/L in ore mine effluent for Ce with a mean water concentration of 0.79 µg/L, and 11.9 µg/L for Er in ore mine effluents with a mean water concentration of 0.004 µg/L. Their potential effects onto aquatic organisms are still relatively unexplored. In this study, long-term multigenerational effects on Daphnia magna were assessed using various exposure times (3, 7, 14, and 21 days) in three generations (F0, F1 and F2). Each generation was exposed to environmental concentrations of Ce and Er (0.54 and 0.43 µg/L, respectively - mean values) and effects included organisms' size, parental reproduction, and survival, determination of reactive oxygen species (ROS), enzymatic activity (superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), and glutathione S-transferase (GST)), gene expression of ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporter, and uptake. Results evidenced that chronic multi-generational exposure of daphnids to Ce and Er reduced survival, growth and reproduction, decreasing ROS, SOD and CAT from F0 to F2. Ce reduced the number of generated offsprings after each generation, while Er delayed the time of offsprings emergence, but not their number. ROS, SOD, CAT and GST evidenced that Er is slightly more toxic than Ce. Up- and downregulation of genes was limited, but Ce and Er activated the ABC transporters. Uptake of Ce and Er decreased through exposure time and generations.

Importance of organic amendment characteristics on bioremediation of PAH-contaminated soil.

This study investigates the importance of the organic matter characteristics of several organic amendments (i.e., buffalo manure, food and kitchen waste, fruit and vegetables waste, and activated sewage sludge) and their influence in the bioremediation of a polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH)-contaminated soil. The removal of low molecular weights (LMW) and high molecular weights (HMW) PAHs was monitored in four bioremediation reactors and used as an indicator of the role of organic amendments in contaminant removal. The total initial concentration of LMW PAHs was 234 mg kg(-1) soil (dry weight), while the amount for HMW PAHs was 422 mg kg(-1) soil (dry weight). Monitoring of operational parameters and chemical analysis was performed during 20 weeks. The concentrations of LMW PAH residues in soil were significantly lower in reactors that displayed a mesophilic phase, i.e., 11 and 15 %, compared to reactors that displayed a thermophilic phase, i.e., 29 and 31 %. Residual HMW PAHs were up to five times higher compared to residual LMW PAHs, depending on the reactor. This demonstrated that the amount of added organic matter and macronutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus, the biochemical organic compound classes (mostly soluble fraction and proteins), and the operational temperature are important factors affecting the overall efficiency of bioremediation. On that basis, this study shows that characterization of biochemical families could contribute to a better understanding of the effects of organic amendments and clarify their different efficiency during a bioremediation process of PAH-contaminated soil.

Use of solar radiation for continuous water disinfection in isolated areas.

This study involved investigation of solar water disinfection in continuously working treatment plants with the aim of producing safe drinking water in isolated areas. Results were obtained from experimental work carried out on a pilot plant operating in different configurations. The use of a simple device to increase solar radiation intensity (solar concentrator) was tested, with results showing that it facilitated better performance. A comparison between transparent and black-painted glass reactors was also made, showing no difference between the two casings. Further, the effect of an increase in water temperature was analysed in detail. Temperature was found to play an important role in the disinfection process, even in cases of limited solar radiation intensities, although a synergistic effect of water heating and solar radiation for effective microbial inactivation was confirmed. Reactor design is also discussed, highlighting the importance of having a plug flow to avoid zones that do not contribute to the overall effectiveness of the process.

Modelling disinfection by-products formation in bromide-containing waters.

A kinetic model capable of simulating by-products formation in bromide-containing waters during disinfection processes is presented in this paper. The model is based on two parallel sequences of incorporation and oxidation reactions induced by bromine or chlorine reacting with natural organic matter (NOM). Each sequence starts from a different type of NOM functionality that has its own set of specific reaction rate. Decay reactions of NOM and halogenated intermediates are assumed to follow a first order kinetic, while disinfection by-product (DBP) generation reactions are simulated introducing so-called splitting coefficients. This approach allows obtaining explicit expressions for DBP species. Model's results are compared with experimental data obtained for seawater samples. Comparison of the data confirms the model's ability to predict DBPs formation with high precision.

Copper release in low and high alkaline water.

Copper release in drinking water, caused by electrochemical corrosion of household distribution systems, was investigated. Experiments were developed testing both low and high alkaline water in stagnant conditions. The effect of varying stagnation time was investigated also. Both soluble and insoluble copper compounds, produced by corrosion processes are quantified, using appropriate experimental procedures. On the basis of obtained results, copper concentration in stagnant water is defined as a function of water alkalinity, while total metal release is defined as a function of stagnation length, and is not dependent on water alkalinity.

Monitoring copper release in drinking water distribution systems.

A new procedure, recently proposed for on-line monitoring of copper released from metal pipes in household plumbing system for drinking water distribution during the development of corrosion processes, is tested experimentally. Experiments were carried out in laboratory controlled conditions, using synthetic water and varying the water alkalinity. The possibility of using the corrosion potential as a surrogate measure of copper concentration in stagnating water is shown, verifying, in the meantime, the effect of alkalinity on the development of passivation phenomena, which tend to protect the pipe from corrosion processes. Experimental data are discussed, highlighting the potentiality of the procedure, and recognizing its limitations.

Mathematical model for sizing combined nitrification and pre-denitrification activated sludge systems.

Two mathematical steady-state models for sizing single activated sludge systems aimed at nitrogen and organics removal from wastewater are proposed. The attention is focused on the combined nitrification system and the pre-denitrification system, considering three (soluble and particulate biodegradable organic matter and ammonia nitrogen) and four (the above cited and nitrate nitrogen) substrates, respectively. Growth and decay of two groups of bacteria (heterotrophic and autotrophic) are taken into account. If the influent flow composition and the kinetic parameters are known and the effluent nitrogen concentration is fixed, both models give explicit expressions of the volumes of the biological reactors. Moreover, the pre-denitrification model makes it possible to define a priori the applicability of the system for a particular wastewater. Model applications show that the nitrification reactor volume increases in the case of a higher influent organic load or to achieve a higher nitrogen ammonia removal efficiency. A smaller denitrification volume is required to face a higher influent organic load. A sensitivity analysis on the kinetic parameters shows an important influence of the maximum ammonia nitrogen removal rate and the ratio between the decay rates of heterotrophic and autotrophic biomass on the nitrification reactor volume.

Coupled design model of pre-denitrification systems.

A coupled model of biological and settling phases aimed at optimal design of pre-denitrification systems is presented. Each unknown is obtained in explicit form, and is expressed as a function of the system's required performance. A model taking into account both suspended and dissolved substrates is adopted for the biological phase, while the limiting solid flux theory is assumed for the design of the settling phase. Finally a relationship correlating the two phases is obtained expressing opportunely the sludge recycle flow and the sludge waste flow, without recourse to empirical parameters. The effect of different influent/effluent wastewater characteristics on the model's results is also analysed.

An integrated programme for municipal solid waste management.

A mathematical model is used in planning an integrated programme for the management of municipal solid waste to solve an economical optimisation problem and allow preliminary decisions to be made at the operational planning phase. The model, based on networks depicting the municipal solid waste management cycle, is simple to apply and furnishes easily assimilated results that facilitate management choices. Its application in an optimised area within the Regione Campania in Italy demonstrates how it may be used to evaluate the economic advantages pertaining to different municipal solid waste collection and treatment options.