Kind Of Wastewater Research Articles

Lipid productivity in limnetic Chlorella is doubled by seawater added with anaerobically digested effluent from kitchen waste

BackgroundAn economical strategy for producing microalgae as biofuel feedstock is driven by the freshwater and nutrients input. In this study, seawater was applied to limnetic algal cultivation and the behavior of algae in seawater media was observed including growth, lipid synthesis, and ultrastructure. To make seawater cater algae, a kind of wastewater, anaerobically digested effluent from kitchen waste (ADE-KW), was used as nutrient sources.ResultsPure seawater cannot support the growth demand of freshwater microalga, due to high salinity and lack of nutrients. However, it is the conditions triggered the algae to synthesize lipids of 60%, double of lipid content in standard medium BG11. Introducing 3 or 5% ADE-KW (volume percentage) into seawater made algal growth reach the level attained in BG11, while lipid content compared favourably with the level (60%) in pure seawater. This method achieved the goal of fast growth and lipid accumulation simultaneously with the highest lipid productivity (19 mg/L day) at the exponential stage, while BG11 obtained 10.55 mg/L day at the stationary stage as the highest lipid productivity, almost half of that in seawater media. Moreover, the condition for highest lipid productivity enlarged algal cells compared to BG11. Under the condition for highest lipid productivity, Chlorella sorokiniana SDEC-18 had enlarged cells and increased settling efficiency compared to BG11, which facilitated harvest in an energy saving way.ConclusionsThe results suggested that combining seawater with ADE-KW to cultivate microalgae had a double function: nutrients and water for algal growth, and high salinity for stimulating lipid accumulation. If this technology was operated in practice, freshwater and non-waste nutrient consumption would be completely obviated.

A novel method to prepare a magnetic carbon-based adsorbent with sugar-containing water as the carbon source and DETA as the modifying reagent.

A novel magnetic heavy metal adsorbent was prepared via diethylenetriamine (DETA) modification on magnetic hydrothermal carbon, with glucose and sugar-containing waste water as the carbon source. The prepared materials were characterized by FT-IR, SEM, TEM, EDXRF, TGA, elemental analysis, XPS, and magnetic moment determination. In this paper, the adsorption mechanism of the modified and unmodified adsorbents was well discussed. Four kinds of waste water (watermelon juice, expired sprite, sugar-pressing waste water, and confectionary waste water) were employed to produce heavy metal ion adsorbents; the chemical properties of hydrothermal carbon derived from the proposed sources were analyzed as well. The maximum uptake capacity for Cu2+, Pb2+, and Cd2+ of the adsorbent produced from glucose was 26.88, 103.09, and 25.38mgg-1, respectively. After 5cycles, the adsorption ability was still well preserved. This work represents an efficient new direction for the treatment of heavy metal ions in water and the reuse of sugar-containing waste water. Graphical abstract The schemetic of DETA-modified magnetic carbon preparing from sugar-containing wastewater.

Zahn-Wellens Test in Industrial Wastewater Biodegradability Assessment

Abstract Biodegradability of pollution contained in examined industrial wastewater was assessed according to methodology based on Zahn-Wellens (OECD 302B) test. The following kinds of wastewater were examined: - metal industry wastewater from aluminium pressure foundry; - wastewater from industrial waste treatment processes, such as: filtration waste, chemical reagents, coolants, water emulsions, oil wastes and other industrial wastes, galvanising waste treatment processes sludge. Samples COD value decrease in the subsequent days of the experiment proves that organic substances contained in the examined wastewater undergo gradual biodegradability in aerobic conditions. The highest biodegradability degree of aluminium pressure foundry wastewater equal 65.7% was noted during 28 day of the experiment. However, the minimum biodegradability degree equal 80% after 13 aeration days, which in Zahn-Wellens test allows to determine the examined substance to be biodegradable, has not been achieved. Meanwhile, Zahn-Wellens test conducted for wastewater from industrial waste treatment processes showed that in the day 14 of the process, high (87.1%) organic substance degradation degree, measured with COD value decrease, was achieved. Further aeration of the samples did not increase biodegradability, which equalled 87.9% after 28 days.

A Review of Ultrafiltration and Forward Osmosis:application and modification

As a new treatment, membrane filtration is playing a more prominent role in treating many kinds of wastewater. Among all the membrane technologies, ultrafiltration(UF) and forward osmosis(FO) technology has been widely utilized and developed in oil field and refinery produced water. However, the reports about the differences between the two kinds of membrane technology used in oily wastewater are not yet available. In this review, at first we introduce the advantages, shortcomings and applications of UF and FO membranes. Among these, we mainly illustrate the membrane fouling, which now is a big problem because it increases costs and decreases membrane life to limit the industrialization of the membrane, and the different modification methods of membranes are discussed to figure out how these ways can ease the membrane fouling. Next we make a comparison of the two membranes. Finally we illustrate the future research topics.

Contrast Experiment on Advanced Treatment of Pharmaceutical and Paper-making Wastewater through Cinder Fenton-like Process

The Fenton-like process of catalyzing H2O2 with Fe2+ and cinder is adopted to subject pharmaceutical and paper-making wastewater to advanced treatment. The influence of each factor is determined using orthogonal experiment and single factor test. The optimal combination of influencing factors is 0.3mmol · L-1 of FeSO4 · 7H2O, [H2O2]:[Fe2+]=8:1 and 10g · L-1 of pyrites cinder. The reaction time in pharmaceutical wastewater and paper-making wastewater is 30min and 60min respectively, testifying to the fact that the reaction in pharmaceutical wastewater is faster than that in paper-making wastewater and the lower utilization rate of cinder in pharmaceutical wastewater. Under the optimal reaction condition, the COD removal rate of these two kinds of wastewater can reach as high as 65% and 72%. Characterized by simple operation and requiring less reagent dosage, this method does not have to regulate the pH of flooding water and allows the repeated usage of cinder.

Cytotoxicity, Antioxidant and Antiviral Potential of Aqueous Extract from Nostoc muscorum Cultivated in Various Inexpensive Media

The genus Nostoc is a valuable source of a wide spectrum of natural products, which have many different biological activities such as antioxidant, anticancer, anti-HIV, antimalarial, antifungal and antimicrobial drugs. The current work was aimed to evaluate the biological activities of Nostoc muscorum microalga cultivated on different waste water samples (domestic, agricultural and industrial waste water). The algae was cultivated in different kinds of waste water; sterilized BG11 media, non-sterilized treated sewage waste water media (NS-TSW), sterilized treated sewage waste water media (S-TSW), 50% BG11 + 50% sterilized TSW media (50% S-TSW), non-sterilized industrial waste water media (NS-IW), sterilized industrial waste water media (S-IW), 50% BG11 + 50% sterilized industrial waste water media (50% S-IW), non-sterilized agriculture waste water media (NS-AW), sterilized agriculture waste water media (S-AW), and 50% BG11 + 50% sterilized AW media (50% S-AW). The experiment was conducted in triplicate and cultures were incubated at 25 ± 1 °C under continuous shaking (150 rpm) and illumination (2000 lx) for 15 days. The pigments content and biological activity include antioxidant (using diphenyl picryl hydrazyl and 2,2-azino-bis ethylbenzthiazoline-6-sulfonic acid radical methods), antiviral activity against Herpes simplex virus and the cytotoxicity for aqueous extracts in vivo and in vitro assays were determined. The given results reported that use of waste water as media for cultivation of microalgae is a suitable and inexpensive method when compared with ordinary cultivation methods. Also We can conclude that the algal species has high ability to produce active ingredients used as antioxidants and antivirals especially from algae cultivated in S-TSW, 50% S-TSW, NS-AW and 50% S-AW without any toxicity in mice.

Treatment of artificial wastewater containing two azo textile dyes by vertical-flow constructed wetlands

The release of untreated dye textile wastewater into receiving streams is unacceptable not only for aesthetic reasons and its negative impacts on aquatic life but also because numerous dyes are toxic and carcinogenic to humans. Strategies, as of now, used for treating textile wastewaters have technical and economical restrictions. The greater part of the physico-chemical methods, which are used to treat this kind of wastewater, are costly, produce large amounts of sludge and are wasteful concerning some soluble dyes. In contrast, biological treatments such as constructed wetlands are cheaper than the traditional methods, environmental friendly and do not produce large amounts of sludge. Synthetic wastewater containing Acid Blue 113 (AB113) and Basic Red 46 (BR46) has been added to laboratory-scale vertical-flow construction wetland systems, which have been planted with Phragmites australis (Cav.) Trin. ex Steud. (common reed). The concentrations 7 and 208 mg/l were applied for each dye at the hydraulic contact times of 48 and 96 h. Concerning the low concentrations of BR46 and AB113, the unplanted wetlands are associated with significant (ρ < 0.05) reduction performances, if compared with planted wetlands concerning the removal of dyes. For the high concentrations of AB113, BR46 and a mixture of both of them, wetlands with long contact times were significantly (ρ < 0.05) better than wetlands that had short contact times in terms of dye, colour and chemical oxygen demand reductions. Regarding nitrate nitrogen (NO3-N), the reduction percentage rates of AB113, BR46 and a mixture dye of both of them were between 85 and 100%. For low and high inflow dye concentrations, best removals were generally recorded for spring and summer, respectively.

Sono-assisted electrocoagulation and cross-flow membrane processes for brewery wastewater treatment

The combinations of treatment processes are one of the hot topics in environmental engineering. Especially, the highly-polluted wastewater can be treated effectively using combined processes. The objective of the present study was to investigate the treatment performance of brewery wastewater using electrocoagulation (EC), ultrasonication (US), and sono-electrocoagulation (SEC) processes. A cross-flow membrane system was integrated to succeed continuous treatment. The effect of electrode combination (Fe and Al), current density (50–100A/m2), pH (5.0–9.0), and operating time (0–60min) on the treatment of wastewater were investigated to obtain maximum treatment efficiency. The maximum removal efficiencies of color and chemical oxygen demand (COD) were obtained as 99.2 and 60.5%, respectively, at the electrode combination of Al/Al, current density of 100A/m2, pH 7.0, and reaction time of 60min. In order to improve treatment quality, a cross-flow membrane process was integrated to the sono-electrocoagulation process. Nanofiltration (NF) and reverse osmosis (RO) membranes were tested. The combined sono-assisted electrocoagulation and membrane system supplied 100% color and 90.8% COD removal efficiency when supported with RO membrane. The results indicated that the proposed integrated process supplied higher pollutant removal compared to the alone electrocoagulation and sonication process. Operating cost of the combined process was calculated as 1.83 $/m3. Moreover, the genotoxic effect of brewery wastewater was also assessed by comet assay before and after treatment. This process can be used to treat a different kind of wastewater as an efficient technique.

Removal of dyes from textile wastewater by using nanofiltration polyetherimide membrane

Followed by rapid development of the textile industries since 19th century the dyeing technology is thriving ever since. However, its progress is followed by lack of responsibility and knowledge in treating the dye-containing wastewater. There are some emerging technologies in treating such kind of wastewater, where membrane technology is one of those technologies that has uniqueness in the performance of separating dyes from wastewater, accompanied with small amount of energy. The development of membrane technology is one of several eco-engineering developments for sustainability in water resource management. However, there are a lot of rooms for improvement for this membrane technology, especially for the application in treating textile wastewater in Indonesia. Based on the demand in Indonesia for clean water and further treatment of dye-containing wastewater, the purpose of this research is to fabricate nanofiltration (NF) membranes to accommodate those problems. Furthermore, the fabricated NF membrane will be modified by interfacial polymerization to impart a new selective layer on top of NF membrane to improve the performance of the separation of the dyes from dye-containing wastewater. This research was conducted into two phases of experiments. In the first phase the formulation of polymeric dope solution of PEI/Acetone/NMP (N-methyl-pyrollidone), using the variation of 15/65/20, 16/64/20, and 17/63/20. This research show that many areas still can be explored in textile wastewater treatment using membrane in Indonesia.

Biorecovery of Palladium from Simulated Wastewaters and Its Catalytic Property for Methylene Blue

By using Enterococcus faecalis Z5 strain (CCTCC M2012445) as a microbial resource, this study explored the possibility of recovering palladium (Pd) in the form of nanoparticles by adding an electron donor; investigated the Pd biorecovery efficiency of three kinds of simulated wastewaters including industrial waste processing leachates (IW) , printed circuit board scrap (PCBS) , and spent automotive catalyst (SAC); and analyzed the effect of other metal ions contained in simulated wastewater on Pd biorecovery efficiency. The results showed that the E. faecalis Z5 could recover Pd(Ⅱ) as palladium nanoparticles from the three simulated wastewaters. X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy analysis indicated that the recovered product was Pd nanoparticles that were about 10 nm in size and mainly distributed in the periplasm of the cells. The order of Pd(Ⅱ) biorecovery efficiency from the three kinds of wastewaters was IW> SAC> PCBS. The biosorption efficiencies for IW, SAC, and PCBS were 99.8% (6 h), 99.7% (8 h), and 90.3% (12 h), respectively, and the bioreduction efficiencies were 99.9% (4 h), 99.9% (6 h), and 80.4% (36 h). Other metal ions contained in the simulated wastewaters such as Pt(Ⅳ), Au(Ⅲ), Ag(Ⅰ), Cu(Ⅱ), and Fe(Ⅱ) affected both the biosorption and bioreduction processes. The degree of matrix effects on the Pd(Ⅱ) bioreduction efficiency were in the order Au(Ⅲ)> Pt(Ⅳ)> Cu(Ⅱ)> Ag(Ⅰ)> Fe(Ⅱ). Further doping the recovered Pd nanoparticles with ferriferous oxide enabled the products to catalyze the degradation of methylene blue in heterogeneous Fenton reactions, which showed 96.7% degradation rate of methyl blue within 80 min.

Evaluation of key parameters on simultaneous sulfate reduction and sulfide oxidation in an autotrophic biocathode

Bioelectrochemical systems (BESs) are being studied as an alternative technology for the treatment of several kinds of wastewaters with a lack of electron donor such as high-strength sulfate wastewaters. This study evaluates different parameters that influence the simultaneous sulfate reduction and sulfide oxidation in an autotrophic biocathode: ion-exchange membrane (IEM), cathodic pH and cathode potential. Two different membranes were studied to evaluate sulfate and sulfide adsorption and diffusion from the cathode to the anode, observing that a cation-exchange membrane (CEM) widely decreased these effects. Three different cathode pH (5.5, 7 and 8.5) were studied in a long-term operation observing that pH = 7 was the optimal for sulfate removal, achieving reduction rates around 150 mg S-SO42- L−1 d−1. Microbial community analysis of the cathode biofilm demonstrated a high abundance of sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB, 67% at pH 7, 60% at pH 8.5 and 42% at pH 5.5), mainly Desulfovibrio sp. at pH 5.5 and 7 and Desulfonatronum sp. at pH 8.5. The cathode potential also was studied from −0.7 to −1.2 V vs. SHE achieving sulfate removal rates higher than 700 mg S-SO42- L−1 d−1 at cathode potentials from −1.0 to −1.2 V vs. SHE. Also, the highest cathodic recovery and the highest sulfur species imbalance were observed at a cathode potential of −1.0 V vs. SHE, which indicated a higher elemental sulfur production.

Performance and kinetics of ANAMMOX granular sludge with pH shock in a sequencing batch reactor.

As an efficient and cost-effective nitrogen removal process, anaerobic ammonium oxidation (ANAMMOX) could be well operated at suitable pH condition. However, pH shock occurred in different kinds of wastewater and affected ANANNOX process greatly. The present research aimed at studying the performance and kinetics of ANAMMOX granular sludge with pH shock. When influent pH was below 7.5, effluent [Formula: see text]-N and [Formula: see text]-N increased with decreasing pH. At Ph 6.0, effluent [Formula: see text]-N approached 100mg/L, and the ratios of [Formula: see text] approached 2.2 and 1.3, respectively. Both greatly deviated from theoretical values. When influent pH was above 7.5, effluent [Formula: see text]-N and [Formula: see text]-N increased with increasing pH. At pH 9.0, ammonium removal rate (ARR) and nitrite removal rate (NRR) decreased to 0.011±0.004 and 0.035±0.004kg/(m3·d), respectively. Besides, [Formula: see text]-N:[Formula: see text]-N deviated from theoretical value. Longer recovery time from pH 9.0 than from pH 6.0 indicated that alkaline surroundings inhibited anaerobic ammonium oxidizing bacteria (AAOB) greater. The sludge settling velocity was 2.15cm/s at pH 7.5. However, it decreased to 2.02cm/s when pH was 9.0. Acidic pH had little effect on sludge size, but disintegration of ANAMMOX granule was achieved with pH of 9.0. The Bell-shaped (A) model and the Ratkowsky model were more applicable to simulate the effect resulting from pH shock on ANAMMOX activity (R2>0.95), and both could describe ANAMMOX activity well with pH shock. They indicated that qmax was 0.37 kg [Formula: see text]-N/(kgMLSS·d) at the optimum pH value (7.47) in present study. The minimum pH during which ANAMMOX occurred was 5.68 while the maximum pH for ANAMMOX reaction was 9.26. Based on nitrogen removal performance with different pH, strongly acidic (pH≤6.5) or alkaline (pH≥8.5) inhibited ANAMMOX process. Besides, ANAMMOX appeared to be more susceptible to alkaline wastewater. Compared to extremely acidic condition (low pH), extremely alkaline condition (high pH) affected ANAMMOX granules much more.

Strategy for Investigation of Filter Material for Wastewater Treatment

This paper presents a strategy for an investigation to give a comprehensive picture of a biological filter aimed for treatment of different kinds of wastewaters, such as landfill leachate, stormwater and wastewater from vehicle washes. The strategy is based on batch equilibrium experiments and includes three main parts. Under focus is the ability of the filter material to simultaneously remove organic and inorganic pollutants from wastewater, as well as the environmental impact of using materials that would normally be waste to build filters, on one hand, and of disposing of used filter material on the other. The filter material used in these tests is naturally occurring materials such as peat and residual products such as carboncontaining ash. A filter material in a treatment system needs eventually to be exchanged either because it has been saturated by pollutants or because the hydraulic conductivity has decreased too much. After usage the filter material is considered solid waste and is to be classified and handled according to that. Several possible alternatives for further handling, i.e. landfilling, combustion or composting can be selected. A characterization of filter material used for three years in a full-scale filter system for landfill leachate treatment has revealed that energy recovery at an incineration plant could be a possible handling alternative for the used filter material.

A Novel Application of Expanded Glass Materials in Sulfate Reducing Bacteria Cultivation

Smelting waste water is typically considered as an environmental pollutant. It will contaminate watercourses, crops and aquatic organism when it is discharged into the environment. Traditionally, the metallurgy plant treats this kind of waste water with neutralization method. However, the neutralization method usually ends up with large amounts of neutralization sludge which is a typical kind of hazardous solid waste. In our research, we used an up-flow anaerobic sludge bed to treat smelting waste water which was neutralized to a certain pH. We combined the traditional neutralization method with microbial technique. The neutralized water was pumped into the bioreactor that had been inoculated with sulfite reducing bacteria on a novel expanded hollow glass bead. In our research, we decreased the lime consume and sludge production, and we decrease the metal ion and sulfate in the smelting waste water at the same time. We combined the traditional neutralization method with microbial treatment and developed a novel solution to deal with smelting waste water. After 8 weeks, the concentration of Zn2+ was decreased by 34.7%, and the concentration of SO42- was decreased by 58.3%.

Removal of Recalcitrant Organic Compounds From an Industrial Complex Effluent by Heterogeneous Fenton‐Type Treatment

Because of their chemical complexity, industrial chemi‐mechanical pulping effluents are evaporated and burned, in spite of the high associated cost involved in these processes. The aim of this study was to remove recalcitrant compounds from this kind of wastewater using a Fenton‐type treatment. The main parameters involved in the process and their influence on the results were determined. Homemade catalysts based on CuO, Fe2O3, NiO, and ZnO, supported on γ‐Al2O3 have been tested for catalytic oxidation, and the CuO/γ‐Al2O3 catalysts showed the greatest effect on total organic carbon (TOC) reduction (52.7%). A series of two‐level factorial experiments was subsequently applied to evaluate the most favorable range of conditions for CuO/γ‐Al2O3 application. The studied variables were hydrogen peroxide concentration ([H2O2], g/L), active phase content (metal oxide supported on alumina,%), mass of catalyst (metal oxide/alumina system, g), and reaction temperature (°C). The highest reduction of all parameters was obtained at the superior level of all variables with CuO/γ‐Al2O3, achieving reductions of chemical oxygen demand (COD) and TOC between 40 and 50%. Increasing catalyst mass did not produce additional benefit. This variable has a significant effect only on the reduction of aromatic compounds. At its low level, reduction in aromatic content exceeded 80%. Color reduction was influenced only by temperature (maximum reduction of 90%).

Heterojunction between anodic TiO2/g-C3N4 and cathodic WO3/W nano-catalysts for coupled pollutant removal in a self-biased system

An anodic TiO2/g-C3N4 hetero-junction and cathodic WO3/W were used to build a self-sustained catalytic fuel cell system for oxidizing rhodamine B or triclosan and reducing NO3−-N to N2 simultaneously. The WO3 nano-catalyst was formed in situ by heating and oxidizing a tungsten wire in air. Cyclic voltammetry and current-time curves were used to characterize the electrochemical properties of the electrodes and system. Aeration and activation of molecular oxygen by self-biased TiO2/g-C3N4 led to the formation of reactive oxidizing species in the fuel cell. The mechanism of simultaneous anodic oxidation of pollutants and cathodic reduction of nitrate was proposed. The spontaneously formed circuit and tiny current were used simultaneously in treating two kinds of wastewater in the reactor chambers, even without light illumination or an external applied voltage. This new catalytic pollution control route can lower energy consumption and degrade many other kinds of pollutants.

Anaerobic co-digestion of food waste for energy production - a review

Anaerobic digestion is a recognised methodology for stabilising any kind of wastewater as well as degradation of organic matter. A useful end-product of anaerobic digestion process is bio-gas. Bio-gas is fuel gas, which is a mixture consisting of methane having concentration of about 65% and carbon dioxide having concentration of about 35%. In order to increase the yield of anaerobic digestion one of the options is carrying co-digestion with several substrates. When co-substrate is used along with anaerobic decomposition process it results in positive synergism between digestions medium improves yield of biogas. Solid waste management currently focuses only on disposal options instead of harnessing or recovering energy. Therefore, by moving energy-rich food waste from landfill sites to anaerobic treatment, it can help the society to manage solid waste in a sustainable manner and also generate renewable energy. Anaerobic co-digestion as a treatment option for solid waste is discussed here. Attention is laid towards anaerobic digestion using various substrates like municipal solid waste, domestic sludge, industrial sludge, animal waste, crop residues, weeds, etc.

Bentonite/carbon composite as highly recyclable adsorbents for alkaline wastewater treatment and organic dye removal

Alkaline wastewater is high-concentrated and refractory organic wastewater from oil refinery, and its chemical oxygen demand (COD) ranged from tens of thousands to more than 100,000 mg L−1. This kind of wastewater is very difficult to deal with. In this study, natural bentonite (BT) was used as the adsorbent to treat the alkaline wastewater. Subsequently, the used BT containing numerous organic compounds was calcined in inert atmosphere to prepare BT/carbon composite (BTCC). This adsorption-calcinations process can be repeated for 9 times and the adsorption performance does not decrease. The characterization results confirmed that as-prepared BTCC has irregular flake-shaped structures, and the carbon content of samples was increased with increased recycle. The adsorbents can be recycled to deal with alkaline wastewater and reduce the COD value of alkaline wastewater. The percentage removal of COD was 91% after recycling 9 times. Moreover, the recycling BTCC also showed superior adsorption behavior for methylene blue (MB). The equilibrium adsorption isotherms were better fitted by the Freundlich isotherm, and the kinetics model of MB adsorption was ideally conformed to pseudo-second-order model. This process realized the principle of “using waste to treat waste”, and obtained excellent recyclable adsorbent material for organic wastewater treatment.

Dynamic Programming for Optimal Disposal of Metal Working Industrial Waste Water/Oil/Fluids Mixtures An Overview

The metal working industries generate different kinds of waste waters as a result of processing metal parts/products, machinery, and other associated activities as well. The performing operations may have two types of activities: (a) manufacturing, and (b) rebuilding or maintenance. Actually, coolants are important component of metal working operations and it improves machinability, increases productivity and extends tool life by properly cooling and lubricating the parts and the cutting tools. But, the coolants get contaminated quickly with foreign materials, lose effectiveness and it may develop even foul odors. With a result, coolants may be used only for a short period and then it is normally discarded. In present context, a systematic and optimal disposal of metal industries wastes in the form of waste water or oil mixtures has become extremely important. This paper underlines the optimal disposal of metal working industrial waste water/oil mixtures with the help of operation research technique called Dynamic Programming.

Wastewater use in agriculture and potential effects on meso and macrofauna soil

ABSTRACT: The use of wastewater in agriculture has been practiced on an increasing scale over the past decades because of its fertilizing potential and the reduction in demand for surface water and groundwater. However, this practice may bring harm when performed without planning, not respecting the capacity of the soil to recycle organic waste. The most common problems are contamination of surface and groundwater via leaching and runoff, as well as accumulation of nutrients and potentially polluting elements that compromise chemical, physical and biological characteristics of the soil. The biological compartment, represented by the micro, meso and macrofauna, plays an important role in nutrient cycling, decomposition of organic matter, particle movement and transport of materials at different depths, helping to maintain soil physical and chemical characteristics. In this sense, this paper aims to discuss the effect of using different kinds of wastewater in agriculture on soil biology, highlighting strengths and weaknesses, as well as emphasizing the need to conduct investigations that enhance the positive aspects of wastewater use associated with edaphic processes.