Faecal indicator bacteria and antibiotic-resistant ß-lactamase producing Escherichia coli in blackwater: a pilot study.

The aim of this study was to identify and quantify faecal indicator bacteria in blackwater collected from a source separation unit and determine the amount of E. coli isolates resistant to antimicrobials and their potential to produce extended spectrum ß-lactamases (ESßLs) and metallo-ß-lactamases (MßLs), which hydrolyse the most important antibiotics used in clinical practice. Most of the isolates were resistant to amoxicillin with clavulanic acid (36.4 %), followed by ticarcillin with clavulanic acid (22.7 %) and tetracycline (18.2 %). ESßL-producing genes blaCTX-M and blaTEM were found in three (13.6 %) and four (18.2 %) E. coli strains, respectively, while MßL genes were found in two (9.1 %). By separating at source, this pilot study clearly shows that gastrointestinal bacteria of healthy people can be an important source of antibiotic resistance released into the environment through wastewaters. One way to prevent that is to treat wastewater with a combination of TiO2, UV light, or ozone, as successful methods to remove resistant bacteria and prevent their spread in the environment.

Thermal pretreatment and bioaugmentation improve methane yield of microalgal mix produced in thermophilic anaerobic digestate.

Liquid fraction produced in anaerobic digestion (AD) of biodegradable waste can be treated on-site with microalgae, which can be recycled back as substrate to the biogas plant. For this research, a pilot high rate algal pond (HRAP) was set with connections to a full scale biogas plant that enabled the use of waste heat and CO2 from a combined heat and power gen-set (CHP). The microalgal mix produced in the thermophilic anaerobic digestate supernatant was tested as a substrate for biogas production in the thermophilic AD (i.e. untreated, bioaugmented with anaerobic bacteria Clostridium thermocellum, and thermally pretreated, respectively). The methane potential of the untreated microalgal mix was low (157.5 ± 18.7 mL CH4/g VS). However, after the thermal pretreatment of the microalgae, methane production increased by 62%, while in the bioaugmentation with C. thermocellum under thermophilic conditions (T = 55 °C) it was elevated by 12%. The outcome of our pilot trial suggests that microalgae produced in the thermophilic biogas digestate represent a prospective alternative AD feedstock. At the same time, microalgae reduce the digestate nitrogen and COD to the level sufficient for the outflow to meet the quality required by the sewage system (ammonia-nitrogen max 200 mg/L, nitrite max 10 mg/L).

Use of hydrodynamic cavitation in (waste)water treatment.

The use of acoustic cavitation for water and wastewater treatment (cleaning) is a well known procedure. Yet, the use of hydrodynamic cavitation as a sole technique or in combination with other techniques such as ultrasound has only recently been suggested and employed. In the first part of this paper a general overview of techniques that employ hydrodynamic cavitation for cleaning of water and wastewater is presented. In the second part of the paper the focus is on our own most recent work using hydrodynamic cavitation for removal of pharmaceuticals (clofibric acid, ibuprofen, ketoprofen, naproxen, diclofenac, carbamazepine), toxic cyanobacteria (Microcystis aeruginosa), green microalgae (Chlorella vulgaris), bacteria (Legionella pneumophila) and viruses (Rotavirus) from water and wastewater. As will be shown, hydrodynamic cavitation, like acoustic, can manifest itself in many different forms each having its own distinctive properties and mechanisms. This was until now neglected, which eventually led to poor performance of the technique. We will show that a different type of hydrodynamic cavitation (different removal mechanism) is required for successful removal of different pollutants. The path to use hydrodynamic cavitation as a routine water cleaning method is still long, but recent results have already shown great potential for optimisation, which could lead to a low energy tool for water and wastewater cleaning.