Microbial Dynamics on Different Microplastics in Coastal Urban Aquatic Ecosystems: The Critical Roles of Extracellular Polymeric Substances.

Microplastics (MPs) serve as carriers for microbial community colonization, forming unique ecosystems known as plastispheres in urban aquatic ecosystems. However, interactions among microbes, extracellular polymeric substances (EPS), and MPs remain poorly understood. This study investigates microbial consortia and their EPS secretion behaviors across various plastispheres at two representative coastal urban water sites.

Enhancing pollution management in watersheds: A critical review of total maximum daily load (TMDL) implementation.

The total maximum daily load (TMDL) program is a regulatory tool to ensure that water bodies meet quality standards by calculating the maximum pollutant load that a water body can assimilate while meeting water quality criteria. Implementing the TMDL program poses significant challenges for water quality management, especially in the context of climate change. This review highlights the application of TMDL in water quality management through various case studies and field applications, demonstrating its practical implementation.

Extracellular polymeric substances as paper coating biomaterials derived from anaerobic granular sludge.

Recovering extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) from waste granular sludge offers a cost-effective and sustainable approach for transforming wastewater resources into industrially valuable products. Yet, the application potential of these EPS in real-world scenarios, particularly in paper manufacturing, remains underexplored. Here we show the feasibility of EPS-based biomaterials, derived from anaerobic granular sludges, as novel coating agents in paper production.

Degradation of Perfluorooctanoic Acid with Hydrated Electron by a Heterogeneous Catalytic System.

Hydrated electron (e)-induced reduction protocols have bright prospects for the decomposition of recalcitrant organic pollutants. However, traditional e production involves homogeneous sulfite photolysis, which has a pH-dependent reaction activity and might have potential secondary pollution risks. In this study, a heterogeneous UV/diamond catalytic system was proposed to decompose of a typical persistent organic pollutant, perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA).

Performance Analysis and Microbial Community Evolution of In Situ Biological Biogas Upgrading with Increasing H/CO Ratio.

The effect of the amount of hydrogen supplied for the biological biogas upgrading was investigated by monitoring the process and evolution of the microbial community. Two parallel reactors, operated at 37°C for 211 days, were continuously fed with sewage sludge at a constant organic loading rate of 1.5 gCOD∙(L∙d) and hydrogen (H).

Extracellular biopolymers recovered as raw biomaterials from waste granular sludge and potential applications: A critical review.

Granular sludge (GS) is a special self-aggregation biofilm. Extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) are mainly associated with the architectural structure, rheological behaviour and functional stability of fine granules, given that their significance to the physicochemical features of the biomass catalysing the biological purification process. This review targets the EPS excretion from GS and introduces newly identified EPS components, EPS distribution in different granules, how to effectively extract and recover EPS from granules, key parameters affecting EPS production, and the potential applications of EPS-based biomaterials.

Stress-induced assays for polyphosphate quantification by uncoupling acetic acid uptake and anaerobic phosphorus release.

Phosphorus has been successfully eliminated from wastewater by biological techniques of enhanced biological phosphorus removal (EBPR) process, which relies on a specific microbiota of polyphosphate accumulating organisms (PAOs) that accumulate phosphate as polyphosphates (poly-P). Most methods for quantification of poly-P pools suffer from low accuracy and specificity. More powerful and implementable P-analysis tools are required for poly-P quantification, which will help in improved evaluation of processes in laboratory and full-scale EBPR systems.

Hydrogels formed by anammox extracellular polymeric substances: structural and mechanical insights.

The recovery of biopolymers from the waste sludge produced in wastewater treatments and their application in other industrial sectors, would substantially increase the environmental and economical sustainability of the process, promoting the development of a circular economy. In this study, extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) extracted from anammox granular waste sludge, were investigated and characterized. Rheological and differential scanning calorimetry measurements on EPS aqueous dispersions indicate the formation of an extended 3-D network above a threshold concentration, with a clear dependence of the mechanical and water retention properties on EPS content.

Highly porous activated carbon with multi-channeled structure derived from loofa sponge as a capacitive electrode material for the deionization of brackish water.

A high quality of activated-carbon electrode materials is of great importance for improving the electrochemical performance of desalination in membrane capacitive deionization. In this study, porous activated carbon was prepared by pyrolytic carbonization and chemical activation of lignocellulosic loofa sponge (Luffa cylindrica, LS) to act as a carbonaceous electrode. After activation, a hierarchically porous structure formed, characterized by the generation of micro-/mesopores on the channel walls.

Elucidating the microbial community associated with the protein preference of sludge-degrading worms.

Sludge predation by aquatic worms results in an increased sludge reduction rate, which is mainly due to the specific removal of a protein fraction from the sludge. As microorganisms play an essential role in sludge hydrolysis a better understanding of the microbial community involved in the worm predation process will provide more insight into the relations between the aquatic worms, their associated microbiome and the efficient sludge reduction. In this study, the microbial community associated with predation by the Tubifex tubifex was investigated.

Potential impacts of changing supply-water quality on drinking water distribution: A review.

Driven by the development of water purification technologies and water quality regulations, the use of better source water and/or upgraded water treatment processes to improve drinking water quality have become common practices worldwide. However, even though these elements lead to improved water quality, the water quality may be impacted during its distribution through piped networks due to the processes such as pipe material release, biofilm formation and detachment, accumulation and resuspension of loose deposits. Irregular changes in supply-water quality may cause physiochemical and microbiological de-stabilization of pipe material, biofilms and loose deposits in the distribution system that have been established over decades and may harbor components that cause health or esthetical issues (brown water).

Complete genome sequence of Arthrobacter sp. ZXY-2 associated with effective atrazine degradation and salt adaptation.

An atrazine-degrading strain Arthrobacter sp. ZXY-2 was originally isolated from Jilin Pesticide Plant (China). Strain ZXY-2 demonstrated excellent atrazine degradation performance and saline tolerance.

Electrochemical Characterization of a Novel Exoelectrogenic Bacterium Strain SCS5, Isolated from a Mediator-Less Microbial Fuel Cell and Phylogenetically Related to Aeromonas jandaei.

A facultative anaerobic bacterium, designated as strain SCS5, was isolated from the anodic biofilm of a mediator-less microbial fuel cell using acetate as the electron donor and α-FeOOH as the electron acceptor. The isolate was Gram-negative, motile, and shaped as short rods (0.9-1.

The heterotrophic-combined-with-autotrophic denitrification process: performance and interaction mechanisms.

In this work, the interaction mechanisms between an autotrophic denitrification (AD) and heterotrophic denitrification (HD) process in a heterotrophic-autotrophic denitrification (HAD) system were investigated, and the performance of the HAD system under different S/Ac(-) molar ratios was also evaluated. The results demonstrated that the heterotrophic-combined-with-autotrophic denitrification process is a promising technology which can remove chemical oxygen demand (COD), sulfide and nitrate simultaneously. The reduction rate of NO(3)(-) to NO(2)(-) by the HD process was much faster than that of reducing NO(2)(-) to N₂, while the reduction rate of NO(3)(-) to NO(2)(-) by the AD process was slower than that of NO(2)(-) to N₂.

Evaluation of simultaneous autotrophic and heterotrophic denitrification processes and bacterial community structure analysis.

This study demonstrated that a combined heterotrophic and autotrophic denitrification (HAD) process is highly effective for the simultaneous removal of acetate, nitrate, and sulfide at an efficiency of 100, 80, and 100 %, respectively. In the HAD system, simultaneous sulfide, acetate, and nitrate removals were observed, which indicated that heterotrophic and autotrophic denitrification occurred simultaneously. When the sulfide was existed in HAD reactor, the main product of sulfide biooxidation was S(0).

Characterization of exoelectrogenic bacteria enterobacter strains isolated from a microbial fuel cell exposed to copper shock load.

Microorganisms capable of generating electricity in microbial fuel cells (MFCs) have gained increasing interest. Here fourteen exoelectrogenic bacterial strains were isolated from the anodic biofilm in an MFC before and after copper (Cu) shock load by Hungate roll-tube technique with solid ferric (III) oxide as an electron acceptor and acetate as an electron donor. Phylogenetic analysis of the 16S rRNA gene sequences revealed that they were all closely related to Enterobacter ludwigii DSM 16688T within the Enterobacteriaceae family, although these isolated bacteria showed slightly different morphology before and after Cu shock load.

Characterization of microbial community structure in a hybrid biofilm-activated sludge reactor for simultaneous nitrogen and phosphorus removal.

The microbial communities in a hybrid biofilm-activated sludge reactor (HY) for nitrogen and phosphorus removal were characterized by 16S rRNA-based clone libraries and phylogenetic analysis. The hybrid reactor removed over 90% of COD, 92% of total nitrogen (TN) and 95% of total phosphorus (TP) from the municipal wastewater, respectively. The mean removal rates of COD, TN, and TP in the conventional suspended activated sludge reactor were above 80%, 80% and 94%, respectively.

A decentralized wastewater treatment system using microbial fuel cell techniques and its response to a copper shock load.

Bench-scale decentralized wastewater treatment systems using microbial fuel cell (MFC) techniques were constructed for simultaneous removal of carbonaceous and nitrogenous pollutants and electricity production from wastewater. The MFC was operated in continuous mode and immobilized Paracoccus pantotrophus cells were added in the cathodic compartment to achieve simultaneous nitrification-denitrification. After 150-day operation, the MFC system could effectively remove >96% COD and 100% ammonium, with 60-80% total nitrogen removal and around 0.

Influence of pretreated activated sludge for electricity generation in microbial fuel cell application.

Influence of different pretreated sludge for electricity generation in microbial fuel cells (MFCs) was investigated in this study. Pre-treatment has shown significant improvement in MFC electricity productivity especially from microwave treated sludge. Higher COD reduction in the MFC has been revealed from microwave treated sludge with 55% for total and 85% for soluble COD, respectively.

A microbial fuel cell driven capacitive deionization technology for removal of low level dissolved ions.

The microbial fuel cell (MFC) is an emerging technology, which uses exoelectrogenic microorganisms to oxidize organic matter in the wastewater to produce electricity. However, the low energy output limits its application in practice. Capacitive deionization (CDI), an electrochemically controlled method for deionization by the adsorption of ions in the electrical double layer region at an electrode-solution interface, requires a low external power supply.