Aerobic Treatment Research Articles

Nickel augmented biochar for sustaining produced water treatment to decarbonize oil and gas industrial waste using anaerobic-aerobic granular cylindrical periodic discontinuous batch reactors

This study assessed the efficacy of granular cylindrical periodic discontinuous batch reactors (GC-PDBRs) for produced water (PW) treatment by employing eggshell and waste activated sludge (WAS) derived Nickel (Ni) augmented biochar. The synthesized biochar was magnetized to further enhance its contribution towards achieving carbon neutrality due to carbon negative nature, Carbon dioxide (CO2) sorption, and negative priming effects. The GC-PDBR1 and GC-PDBR2 process variables were optimized by the application of central composite design (CCD). This is to maximize the decarbonization rate. Results showed that the systems could reduce total phosphorus (TP) and chemical oxygen demand (COD) by 76–80% and 92–99%, respectively. Optimal organic matter and nutrient removals were achieved at 80% volumetric exchange ratio (VER), 5 min settling time and 3000 mg/L mixed liquor suspended solids (MLSS) concentration with desirability values of 0.811 and 0.954 for GC-PDBR1 and GC-PDBR2, respectively. Employing four distinct models, the biokinetic coefficients of the GC-PDBRs treating PW were calculated. The findings indicated that First order (0.0758–0.5365) and Monod models (0.8652–0.9925) have relatively low R2 values. However, the Grau Second-order model and Modified Stover-Kincannon model have high R2 values. This shows that, the Grau Second Order and Modified Stover-Kincannon models under various VER, settling time, and MLSS circumstances, are more suited to explain the removal of pollutants in the GC-PDBRs. Microbiological evaluation demonstrated that a high VER caused notable rises in the quantity of several microorganisms. Under high biological selective pressure, GC-PDBR2 demonstrated a greater percentage of nitrogen removal via autotrophic denitrification and a greater number of nitrifying bacteria. The overgrowth of bacteria such as Actinobacteriota spp. Bacteroidota spp, Gammaproteobacteria, Desulfuromonas Mesotoga in the phylum, class, and genus, has positively impacted on granule formation and stability. Taken together, our study through the introduction of intermittent aeration GC-PDBR systems with added magnetized waste derived biochar, is an innovative approach for simultaneous aerobic sludge granulation and PW treatment, thereby providing valuable contributions in the journey toward achieving decarbonization, carbon neutrality and sustainable development goals (SDGs).

Impact of long-term temperature shifts on activated sludge microbiome dynamics and micropollutant removal

Micropollutants removal efficiency strongly vary across different aerobic wastewater treatment plants, resulting in their frequent detection in surface and ground waters. Seasonal temperature variation is a major factor influencing plant performance, but it is still unclear how prolonged periods of temperature change impact microbiome and micropollutant biotransformation. This work investigates the effect of long-term temperature variation on the microbial dynamics in an activated sludge system, and the impact on micropollutant biotransformation. Sequencing batch reactors were used as model system and 4–40 °C temperature range was studied. 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing showed that temperature drives microbial structure (gDNA) and activity (RNA), rather than time, and this was stronger below 15 °C and above 25 °C. The microbial community was richest and more diverse at 20 °C, while rarer and more specific taxa became predominant over time, at more extreme temperatures. This suggested that less abundant taxa might be responsible for maintaining the biotransformation capability in the activated sludge at extreme temperatures. Micropollutant biotransformation rates mostly deviated from the classic Arrhenius model below 15 °C and above 25 °C, indicating that prolonged exposure to temperature changes leads to temperature-induced taxonomic shifts, resulting in the emerging of different sets of biotransformation pathways over different temperature ranges.

Performance of wastewater treatment plants in emission of greenhouse gases

The present work has estimated greenhouse gas emissions in aerobic and anaerobic Wastewater Treatment Plants in Southern Italy. Greenhouse gases emissions from each treatment unit were calculated based on emission factors related to Chemical Oxygen Demand removal for biogenic CO2 and CH4 assessment and on Nitrogen removal for N2O. N2O, biogenic CO2, and CH4 emissions vary for aerobic and anaerobic-based WWTPs respectively from 73 kgCO2eq/PE*y for anaerobic plants to 91 kgCO2eq/PE*y for aerobic plants. In aerobic and anaerobic digestion systems WWTPs the contributions to CO2eq total emissions from N2O, CH4, biogenic CO2, and fossil CO2 are 30 %–33 %, 20 %–29 %, 22 %–25 %, and 26 %–16 %, respectively. N2O emissions from biological processes were found the most contributing sources of greenhouse gases while in the physical processes higher contribution is indirect carbon dioxide related to energy consumption. Compensatory measures are reported to reduce greenhouse gases emissions.

Phenacetin promoted the rapid start-up and stable maintenance of partial nitrification: Responses of nitrifiers and antibiotic resistance genes

Phenacetin (PNCT) belongs to one of the earliest synthetic antipyretics. However, impact of PNCT on nitrifying microorganisms in wastewater treatment plants and its potential microbial mechanism was still unclear. In this study, PN could be initiated within six days by PNCT anaerobic soaking treatment (8 mg/L). In order to improve the stable performance of PN, 21 times of PNCT aerobic soaking treatment every three days was conducted and PN was stabilized for 191 days. After PN was damaged, ten times of PNCT aerobic soaking treatment every three days was conducted and PN was recovered after once soaking, maintained over 88 days. Ammonia oxidizing bacteria might change the dominant oligotype to gradually adjust to PNCT, and the increase of abundance and activity of Nitrosomonas promoted the initiation of PN. For nitrite-oxidizing bacteria (NOB), the increase of Candidatus Nitrotoga and Nitrospira destroyed PN, but PN could be recovered after once aerobic soaking illustrating NOB was not resistant to PNCT. KEGG and COG analysis suggested PNCT might disrupt rTCA cycle of Nitrospira, resulting in the decrease of relative abundance of Nitrospira. Moreover, PNCT did not lead to the sharp increase of absolute abundances of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs), and the risk of ARGs transmission was negligible.

Removal and prediction of chemicals in anaerobic–anoxic–aerobic wastewater treatment system: Case study on organophosphates

Distribution and removal of chemicals in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) have mainly relied on mathematical models. Existing exposure assessment models such as SimpleTreat, STPWIN are based on conventional activated sludge processes. There is an urgent need to develop an A2/O-based WWTPs exposure assessment model. Organophosphates (OPEs) have different physical and chemical properties and potential environmental risks. The fate and biodegradation kinetics of three types of OPEs, including alkyl OPEs, chlorinated OPEs and triphenyl ester OPEs, were studied in a laboratory-scale anaerobic/anoxic/aerobic (A2/O) sewage treatment system and batch reactors. The three types of OPEs had different anaerobic, anoxic, and aerobic removal characteristics. A compensation mechanism was found between anaerobic and anoxic/aerobic removal. When the hydraulic retention time decreased from 82 to 20.5 h, the removal efficiencies in the anaerobic unit decreased, while those in the anoxic unit increased; as a result, the total removal efficiencies remained high (>80 %) for all OPEs except triphenyl phosphate (65.5%–75.1 %). The concept of effective sludge concentration (MLSSeff) was proposed to illustrate the compensation mechanism and calibrate the second-order kinetic equation for predicting pollutant removal in the A2/O system: MLSSeff = ken × MLSS, where ken is a constant related to the influent total organic carbon content (TOC). The influent TOC contents of the anoxic and aerobic units affected the value of MLSSeff and OPEs removal. The results are of great significance for assessing OPEs exposure and predicting exposure to emerging micropollutants in sewage treatment systems.

Prevalence of Different Types of Eating Disorder in Different Endurance Sports and its Impact on Performance: A Narrative Review

Endurance sports have shown prominent effects in aerobic capacity, cardio-protection, prevention or treatment of diabetic mellitus, athletic body composition and bone density. Despite of these positive effects, these sports may leads to risk factor of eating disorder. It has been found in several studies that athletes are more prone to eating disorder (ED) than the non athletic population. Thus the aim and objective of this review is to critically analyze the literature to evaluate different types of eating disorder among athletes and its impact on their performance among endurance athletes. The significance of this review is to provide information about further exploration in eating disorder athletes so that it may hopefully help clinicians and physiotherapist in planning individualized exercise programs that would be beneficial at improving outcomes in these sports person. Result suggested that antigravitational sports are at higher risk of ED when compared with endurance sports whereas endurance sports athletes are at more risk when compared with ball sports or triathletes. It has be also found out that initially ED may result in performance but later it will leads to low performance because athletes with EDs will physiological and psychological disorders. KEYWORDS: Eating Disorder OR Anorexia OR Bulimia OR Endurance Sports OR Athlete OR Performance

Distribution and transfer of organics in the coagulation–anaerobic hydrolysis–aerobic treatment process of cutting fluid wastewaters

ABSTRACT Two kinds of real cutting fluid wastewater samples (i.e., sample A and sample B) and two kinds of coagulants (i.e., polymerized aluminum chloride (PAC) and polymeric iron sulfate (PFS)) were studied during coagulation experiment, and the coagulation effluent of sample B with PAC was utilized for subsequent anaerobic hydrolysis–aerobic treatment, and the molecular weight (MW) distribution and ultraviolet (UV) absorption spectroscopy were used to explore the distribution and transfer of organics of each treatment unit. The results showed that sample A and sample B both mainly contained macromolecular organics with MW > 100 kDa and small molecule organics with MW < 3 kDa, and PAC had significant coagulation performance for organics with MW > 100 kDa in both samples, while neither PAC nor PFS achieved good coagulation performance for the small molecule organics with MW < 3 kDa in both samples. It could be inferred by UV spectra that the coagulation effluent of sample A and B might both contain organics with conjugated double bonds, monocyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and the coagulation effluent of sample B might also contain polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and heterocyclic compounds with low MW. MW distribution analysis and the UV spectra results showed that biological treatment could further remove organics with conjugated double bonds and aromatic compounds with MW < 3 kDa.

Efficacy and mechanism of enhanced Sb(V) removal from textile wastewater using ferric flocs in aerobic biological treatment

Antimony contamination from textile industries has been a global environmental concern and the existing treatment technologies could not reduce Sb(V) to meet the discharge standards. To overcome this shortcoming, ferric flocs were introduced to expedite the biological process for enhanced Sb(V) removal in wastewater treatment plant (WWTP). For this purpose, a series of laboratorial-scale sequential batch reactor activated sludge processes (SBRs) were applied for Sb(V) removal with varied reactor conditions and the transformation of Fe and Sb in SBR system was investigated. Results showed a significant improvement in Sb(V) removal and the 20 mg L−1 d−1 iron ions dosage and iron loss rate was found to be only 15.2%. The influent Sb(V) concentration ranging 153–612 μg L−1 was reduced to below 50 μg L−1, and the maximum Sb(V) removal rate of the enhanced system reached about 94.3%. Furthermore, it exhibited high stability of Sb(V) removal in the face of antimonate load, Fe strike and matrix change of wastewater. Sludge total Sb determination and capacity calculation revealed decreasing in Sb adsorption capacity and desorption without fresh Fe dosage. While sludge morphology analysis demonstrated the aging and crystallization of iron hydroxides. These results verify the distinct effects of fresh iron addition and iron aging on Sb(V) removal. High-throughput gene pyrosequencing results showed that the iron addition changed microbial mechanisms and effect Fe oxidized bacterial quantity, indicating Sb(V) immobilization achieved by microbial synergistic iron oxidation. The present study successfully established a simple and efficient method for Sb(V) removal during biological treatment, and the modification of biological process by iron supplement could provide insights for real textile wastewater treatment.

TECNOLOGÍAS DEL BENEFICIADO DE CAFÉ Y TRATAMIENTO DE EFLUENTES LÍQUIDOS

<p><strong>Background.</strong> The coffee processing process generates polluting solid and liquid waste. It is possible to reduce its effects through treatments that allow its use. <strong>Objective.</strong> To analyze the alternatives for the management of the effluents and residues generated in the coffee processing process to reduce its effects and to show treatments that have had positive results. <strong>Methodology.</strong> To obtain the information, specialized search engines were used in databases such as: RESEARCHGATE, GOOGLE SCHOLAR, CIRAD, CATIE, IICA, ELSEVIER, SCIENCIE DIRECT, REDALYC, SCOPUS. An exploration and analysis of 100 documents related to the following topics was carried out: 1) history of the use of effluent treatment systems in coffee processing, 2) types of treatments for the management of liquid and solid waste, 3) operation of these technologies, capacity, place where the research was carried out, variables measured, as well as the capacity of these systems. The search period was planned from 1980 to 2023. The history of the beginning of the systems for the treatment of waste generated in coffee processing was also investigated. The key words used for the search were: wet processing, wastewater, solid and liquid waste, coffee by-products, treatment systems, chemical oxygen demand, biological oxygen demand, total solids, turbidity, anaerobic treatments, and aerobic treatments. Approximately 100 documents were reviewed for the writing of the paper. <strong>Main findings.</strong> Research has been reported since 1980. Colombia and Mexico have focused on the development of machinery to mechanize processing operations to reduce water use, as well as anaerobic treatment systems, biodigesters and wetlands. <strong>Implications.</strong> It is necessary to know the main methods of wastewater treatment in the coffee processing process to determine the most suitable in coffee growing regions. <strong>Conclusions.</strong> Anaerobic biodigestion technology is the most used for the treatment of liquid effluents and with the best results. For the solid effluent, different alternatives are used for substrate such as the extraction of substances for industry, composting and biomaterials, among others.</p>

Efficiency of An Aerobic Treatment for The Removal of Organic Matter in Textile Effluents Using Biological Reactors

Objetivo: Evaluar la eficiencia de un tratamiento aeróbico usando reactores biológicos secuenciales en efluentes de origen textil. Marco teórico: La remoción de colorantes mediante técnicas de tratamiento biológico ha cobrado impulso en los últimos años por ser eficientes, sostenibles, renovables, y respetuosas con el medio ambiente. Materiales y métodos: Se usaron reactores biológicos aeróbicos con un volumen de 2 L para el tratamiento de efluentes de origen textil usando dos tiempos de ciclo operaciones, 12 y 16 horas. Se midieron parámetros como color, turbidez, pH y materia orgánica a la entrada y salida de los reactores. Resultados y discusión: Se obtuvieron porcentajes de remoción superiores a 73, 86 y 94 %, en la remoción de materia orgánica, color y turbidez, respectivamente. El efluente textil una vez tratado resulta apto para su vertido en cuerpos de agua naturales, cumpliendo con lo establecido en la normativa venezolana. Implicaciones de la investigación: Los tratamientos aplicados al efluente industrial textil indica el buen desempeño de los reactores biológicos aeróbicos para adaptarse a distintas condiciones de operación. Valor/originalidad: El tratamiento en reactores aeróbicos es una excelente opción para pequeñas y medianas empresas dedicadas a la tinción de telas, representando una técnica de mitigación para el impacto ambiental ocasionado por la descarga de efluentes sin tratamiento.

Factors affecting the performance of a pharmaceutical wastewater treatment plant: Characterization of effluent and environmental risk

Pharmaceutical industries produce a huge volume of emerging pollutants (EPs) that pose a threat to the aqueous environment. Biological processes have shown their inefficacy in treating many pharmaceutical products. The study assessed physicochemical parameters, EPs, heavy metals in pharmaceutical industrial wastewater, and the removal efficiency (RE) of an aerobic biological treatment plant. The study also assessed the contamination levels and risk using several indices, such as the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment Water Quality Index (CCME-WQI), heavy metal pollution index (HPI), heavy metal evaluation index (HEI), and risk quotients index (RQs). The study found that the treated water quality was poor, having antibiotics, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, and others, along with several transformation products (TPs) and heavy metals, which were unsafe for consumption with high environmental risk. The analysis results showed that the RE for TSS, BOD5, COD, TDS, and EC were found to be 91.80%, 86.81%, 72.29%, 72.20%, and 65.60%, respectively, where the values of BOD5, COD, NO3−, and PO43− in the effluent were still higher than the permissible limits of the ECR (2023). However, the RE for heavy metals was in the order of Cu (84.62%) > Fe (65.04%) > Mn (63.3%) > Zn (60.58%) > Cd (53.85%) > Ni (54.12%) > Pb (42.42%) > Cr (38%), where Cr and Cd concentrations were still higher than the permissible limit of DoE (2019). The Pearson correlation and PCA suggested that EC, TDS, TSS, DO, BOD5, and COD were the most correlating and contributing variables. This study argued that metal-ligand behaviors mainly affect the removal efficiency of the treatment plant by lowering the removal rate of heavy metals and pharmaceutical products.

Effect of anti-tumor necrosis factor therapy on the efficacy of aerobic exercise in patients with ankylosing spondylitis

Background: This study aims to evaluate the effects of aerobic exercise on ankylosing spondylitis (AS) patients' clinical outcomes when combined with anti-tumor necrosis factor (TNF) treatments. Methods: Fifty patients diagnosed with AS participate in the study, with 25 on anti-TNF treatment and 25 off anti-TNF treatment. Patients' age, education, body mass index, smoking habits, symptom duration, date of diagnosis, medication use, comorbidities, and surgical history were assessed. Patients receive instructions to walk for 30 minutes, three times per week for twelve weeks and receive evaluation at weeks 0, 6, and 12. Disease activity is evaluated using Visual Analog Scale (VAS) and Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Index (BASDAI), while sleep quality is assessed by the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). The Ankylosing Spondylitis Life Quality (ASQoL) is used to measure the quality of life and physical activity is measured by the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ). Results: During week 6, VAS, BASDAI, PSQI, and IPAQ scores were significantly lower in both groups, one taking anti-TNF and the other anti-TNF-free, in comparison to baseline and week 12 scores. After undergoing six weeks of aerobic exercise treatment, those taking anti-TNF displayed greater improvements in ASQoL scores in contrast to those who were not taking anti-TNF. Conclusion: Aerobic exercise is an effective intervention for enhancing disease activity, quality of life, sleep quality, and physical activity in patients with AS. Additionally, anti-TNF treatment appears to amplify the clinical benefits associated with exercise and facilitate patients' physical activity.

The Aerobic Granules Process for Wastewater Treatment: From Theory to Engineering

Aerobic granules are small, dense aggregates of microbial cells that form naturally in aerobic wastewater treatment systems. They are characterized by their spherical shape, strong structural integrity, and ability to rapidly settle. These granules are formed through a self-immobilization process where different microbial species coalesce to degrade organic and inorganic compounds in wastewater. This study summarizes the development of aerobic granulation technology in wastewater treatment and the mechanism of aerobic granules’ formation, analyzes the characteristics and the factors affecting the aerobic granules’ formation, and presents practical engineering examples of its application from pilot-scale to full-scale operation.

Nitrogen removal and nitrous oxide emission from moving bed biofilm reactor (MBBR) under different loads and airflow

Total nitrogen (TN) removal by sewage treatment required the development of nitrifying and denitrifying activities; however, these metabolite activities can produce and emit nitrous oxide (N2O), one of the greenhouse gases (GHG). With the expansion of sewage treatment in the world, compact systems such as moving bed biofilm reactor (MBBR) may be promising, mainly in more populated cities. However, little is known about N2O emission by the MBBR. This work investigated the N-NHx and TN removal, N2O production and emission and nitrogen mass balance in a MBBR under organic load and airflow variation. The highest TN removal (47%) was observed under higher load and higher aeration rate. Meanwhile, the MBBR under lower load and lower airflow had the lowest efficiency of TN and N-NHx removal probably due to a lower nitrifying activity. The N2O emission factors were lower than 1.6% (value estimated by the IPCC for sewage aerobic treatment systems). In addition, in the essay with higher load and lower airflow, half of removed TN was released by settled sludge and there is little research about this subject. Therefore, the MBBR showed to be a promising process for nitrogen removal with little emission of N2O even under different operational conditions that normally can occur in sanitary sewage system in cities around the world.

Performance evaluation of Anaerobic-Aerobic Hybrid Baffled Reactor Coupled with an Anaerobic Filter treating Landfill Leachate.

The Anaerobic Baffled Reactor (ABR) is an effective solution for landfill leachate treatment using an anaerobic fermentation process, which helps to reduce operating costs and sludge volume. To better understand the biological, chemical, and physical processes involved, especially when combining the ABR with an aerobic component, the study aimed to investigate the performance of an Anaerobic-Aerobic Hybrid Baffled Reactor (AABR) that includes an Anaerobic Filter (AF) for treating landfill leachate. This research utilized two glass reactors. The first reactor, designated as AABR-AF, consisted of six independent rectangular glass chambers arranged side by side. The third and sixth chamber designed for aerobic treatment and AF, respectively. The second reactor was used as a control reactor and did not include any aerobic chamber. The highest Removal Efficiencies (REs) for turbidity, COD, BOD, TP, TKN, nitrate, TOC, and TSS in the AABR-AF and ABR-AF were found to be (65.4% and 56.3%), (98.3% and 94.1%), (98.1% and 93.2%), (86.4% and 65%), (89.2% and 76.7%), (81.2% and 64.4%), (88.2% and 79.4%), and (72.4% and 68.5%), respectively. These optimal REs were achieved at an HRT of 48 h and an OLR of 10 kg/m3.d. Also, the highest and the lowest REs in Heavy Metals (HMs) were 89.57% for manganese in AABR-AF and 6.59% for nickel in ABR-AF, in an OLR of 10 kg/m3.d, respectively. The effective removal of Organic Matters (OMs) from landfill leachate using the AABR-AF and ABR-AF was found to be strongly influenced by HRT and OLR. The AABR-AF configuration, featuring a single aerobic chamber in the reactor, exhibited a higher efficiency in removing OMs compared to the ABR-AF configuration.

Energy and resource recovery from a future aerobic granular sludge wastewater treatment plant and benefit analysis

The sustainable approach to energy and resource recovery from excess sludge is gaining traction. This study compared the benefits of methane production through anaerobic digestion (AD) and the recovery of alginate-like exopolymers (ALE)/phosphorus (P) from two types of aerobic granular sludge (AGS). Bacterial and algal-bacterial AGS produced similar methane amounts, around 292 and 287 mL/g-VSadded, respectively, over 30 days, with 72% and 80% biodegradability. After ALE extraction, the remaining AGS showed a 48–56% decrease in methane production without pH adjustment. However, a conceptual wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) processing 10,000 m3/d of wastewater with ALE/P and methane recovery yielded the highest net profits, approximately 66.3 thousand USD annually, when algal-bacterial AGS was used, compared to 59.2 thousand USD for the bacterial AGS-based WWTP. These findings provide valuable insights for developing a sustainable wastewater industry and future WWTP design.

Analysis on Operation and Water Quality Characteristics of Centralized Wastewater Treatment Plants of Industrial Parks in Yellow River Basin, China

The Yellow River basin serves as an important economic belt and industrial base in China, featuring numerous industrial parks. However, alongside its economic significance, the basin struggles with significant water environmental challenges. This study analyzed the operational status, influent water quality, and energy consumption of 63 centralized wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) from 54 major industrial parks in the Yellow River basin. The scale of these WWTPs was primarily within the range of 1 × 104~5 × 104 m3/d, with an average hydraulic loading rate of 53.8%. Aerobic treatment processes are predominant. The influent concentrations of chemical oxygen demand (COD), biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), ammonia nitrogen (NH3-N), total nitrogen (TN), and total phosphorus (TP) in the WWTPs exhibited a right-skewed distribution. The BOD/COD ratio of the WWTPs fluctuated between 0.1 and 1.6, and 75% of the WWTPs showed a COD/TN ratio lower than eight. The average BOD5/TN was 2.7, and the probability of influent BOD5/TP > 20 was 84.6%. A significant linear correlation exists between the influent BOD and COD concentrations, while moderate linear relationships are also observed among NH3-N, TN and TP, emphasizing the importance of maintaining appropriate nitrogen and phosphorus levels for efficient pollutant removal. The average electricity consumption of WWTPs in the Yellow River basin in 2023 was 1.1 kWh/m3. It is important to upgrade these WWTPs and reduce their energy consumption. Further strengthening the construction of industrial wastewater collection and treatment facilities based on regional characteristics is recommended to promote the high-quality development of industrial wastewater treatment in the Yellow River basin.

Physical and Chemical Characteristics of Liquid Organic Fertilizer from Shrimp Shell Waste and Old Coconut Water

The rapid growth of people and industry generates organic waste of 50-60% of production materials. These wastes can be used for agriculture, as human awareness of healthy consumption causes agriculture to start using organic materials. Organic waste from industry in the form of shrimp shells and old coconut water can be used as organic fertilizer for plant growth and development. This study aims to examine the dynamics of reactions that occur during the process of making organic fertilizer and test the physical and chemical quality of the resulting organic fertilizer. This research has a combination design of 2 factors. The first factor is the fermentation method (F) which consists of 2 levels, namely: F1 = container with air hose (aerobic), F2 = tightly closed container (anaerobic). The second factor is the organic fertilizer raw material (L) which consists of 3 levels, namely: L1 = shrimp shell waste, L2 = old coconut water, L3 = shrimp shell waste + old coconut water. The results showed on the physical characteristics, aerobic fermentation treatment is faster to produce organic fertilizer than anaerobic, and the speed of producing organic fertilizer is also influenced by the characteristics of raw materials. Wheareas based on the chemical properties, all treatments have not met the Indonesian national standards, but there are several chemical components that meet such as pH, C-organic and N-total. The treatments that are close to the standard are F1L1 and F1L3 treatment for N-total, F1L2 and F2L2 for C-organic.

Deciphering the core bacterial community structure and function and their response to environmental factors in activated sludge from pharmaceutical wastewater treatment plants

Pharmaceutical wastewater is recognized for its heightened concentrations of organic pollutants, and biological treatment stands out as an effective technology to remove these organic pollution. Therefore, a comprehensive exploration of core bacterial community compositions, functions, and their responses to environmental factors in pharmaceutical wastewater treatment plants (PWWTPs) is important for understanding the removal mechanism of these organic pollutants. This study comprehensively investigated 36 activated sludge (AS) samples from 15 PWWTPs in China. The results revealed that Proteobacteria (45.41%) was the dominant phylum in AS samples, followed by Bacteroidetes (19.54%) and Chloroflexi (4.13%). While the dominant genera were similar in both aerobic and anaerobic treatment processes, their relative abundances exhibited significant variations. Genera like HA73, Kosmotoga, and Desulfovibrio were more abundant during anaerobic treatment, while Rhodoplanes, Bdellovibrio, and Hyphomicrobium dominated during aerobic treatment. 13 and 10 core operational taxonomic units (OTUs) were identified in aerobic and anaerobic sludge, respectively. Further analysis revealed that core OTUs belonging to genera Kosmotoga, Desulfovibrio, Thauera, Hyphomicrobium, and Chelativorans, were associated with key functions, including sulfur metabolism, methane metabolism, amino acid metabolism, carbohydrate metabolism, toluene degradation, and nitrogen metabolism. Furthermore, this study highlighted the crucial roles of environmental factors, such as COD, NH4+-N, SO42−, and TP, in shaping both the structure and core functions of bacterial communities within AS of PWWTPs. Notably, these factors indirectly affect functional attributes by modulating the bacterial community composition and structure in pharmaceutical wastewater. These findings provide valuable insights for optimizing the efficiency of biochemical treatment processes in PWWTPs.

Reviewing the potential of anaerobic membrane bioreactors in wastewater treatment

Anaerobic membrane bioreactors (AnMBRs) represent an innovative approach to wastewater treatment, combining anaerobic digestion with membrane filtration to achieve efficient organic pollutant removal and resource recovery. This review critically examines the potential of AnMBRs in wastewater treatment, highlighting their principles, advantages, challenges, recent advancements, and future prospects. AnMBRs offer several advantages over traditional aerobic treatment methods, including higher organic loading rates, reduced energy requirements, and biogas production through methane generation. However, challenges such as membrane fouling, reactor complexity, and operational costs have limited their widespread adoption. Recent advancements in membrane materials, fouling mitigation strategies, and process optimization have improved AnMBR performance and feasibility. Novel membrane materials with enhanced fouling resistance and durability have been developed, while innovative cleaning techniques and operational protocols have been implemented to mitigate membrane fouling and prolong membrane lifespan. Process optimization strategies, including reactor design modifications and operational parameter adjustments, have enhanced treatment efficiency and reduced energy consumption in AnMBRs. Future research directions in AnMBR technology focus on optimizing reactor configurations, exploring novel membrane materials and fouling control strategies, and conducting comprehensive techno-economic assessments to evaluate the environmental and economic sustainability of AnMBRs. Integration of AnMBRs with emerging technologies such as membrane distillation, forward osmosis, and bioelectrochemical systems holds promise for further enhancing treatment performance and resource recovery capabilities. Additionally, addressing knowledge gaps in membrane fouling mechanisms, microbial community dynamics, and long-term system stability is crucial for advancing AnMBR technology and facilitating its widespread implementation in wastewater treatment. Overall, AnMBRs offer significant potential for sustainable wastewater treatment, providing opportunities for organic pollutant removal, energy recovery, and resource reuse. By addressing technical challenges, optimizing process parameters, and conducting interdisciplinary research, AnMBRs can contribute to the development of efficient, cost-effective, and environmentally friendly wastewater treatment solutions, ultimately supporting the goal of achieving cleaner water resources and a more sustainable future.