Abstract
Sampling was conducted from biochemical reaction tanks of six municipal wastewater treatment plants in the Yangtze River and Zhujiang deltas and the Jing-Jin-Ji region to assess their morphology, level, and composition. Morphological observations suggested that particles were scattered amorphously with C, O, and Si as the major elements. Bioaerosols are composed of spatially varying levels of microorganisms and chemicals. As the sampling height increased, the level of the components in the bioaerosols decreased. Wastewater in the biochemical reaction tanks was identified as an important source of bioaerosols using SourceTracker analysis. The aerosolization of film drops produced by bursting of bubbles was the main reason for the generation of bioaerosols. Increasing the aeration rate of water may promote bioaerosol generation. Relative humidity, temperature, wind speed, and solar illumination influenced the survival of bioaerosols. Large particle sedimentation and wind diffusion significantly decreased the atmospheric aerosol concentration. When the sampling point height increased from 0.1 m to 3.0 m, the concentrations of the microorganisms and total suspended particles decreased by 23.71% and 38.74%, respectively. Considerable attention should be paid to the control of total suspended particles and microorganisms in bioaerosols.
Highlights
The aerated basin in a municipal wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) is a treatment pond in which microbial action is used to remove dissolved and suspended organic compounds in wastewater
The main component of the blank membranes (BMs) was SiO2 because glass fibre membranes were used as the media for the deposition of the particles
biochemical reaction tanks (BRTs) constructed in the WWTPs of Hefei and Yixing, the chemicals detected (e.g. total suspended particles (TSPs) and water-soluble ions (WSIs)) in the bioaerosols at the water surface were mainly chemicals that were originally present in the wastewater (23.34%) and outdoor air control (OAC) (27.69%), while the sources of the other chemicals were unknown (48.97%)
Summary
The aerated basin in a municipal wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) is a treatment pond in which microbial action is used to remove dissolved and suspended organic compounds in wastewater. Previous estimates have suggested that exposure to airborne pathogens from wastewater can potentially place people at serious risk of cardiovascular and respiratory disease[10] Particles, those of small size, are spread to the atmosphere over distances and can cause infection in on-site workers as well as downwind residents. It is well recognized that NO3−, SO42−, and NH4+ play an important role in the formation of haze[15] Chemicals, such as inorganic particles, soluble ions, and organic matter, may provide a suitable microenvironment for the survival of airborne microorganisms in the air and may contribute to urban smog. This work may provide the basis for the mitigation and control of bioaerosol emissions from WWTPs
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