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Li C, Liu C, Shan Y, Lan T. Effects of low frequency ultrasound treatment on dissolved organic nitrogen removal by biological activated carbon: Critical insights into molecular characteristics, microbial traits, and metabolism. WATER RESEARCH 2024; 260:121924. [PMID: 38896885 DOI: 10.1016/j.watres.2024.121924] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/18/2023] [Revised: 05/22/2024] [Accepted: 06/10/2024] [Indexed: 06/21/2024]
Abstract
Drinking water treatment plants (DWTPs) in China that pioneered the biological activated carbon (BAC) process have reached 10 years of operation. There has been a renewed focus on biofiltration and the performance of old BAC filters for dissolved organic nitrogen (DON) has been poor, requiring replacement and regeneration of the BAC. Therefore, it is necessary to explore a cost-effective way to improve the water quality of the old BAC filters. To address this, low frequency ultrasound is proposed to enhance DON removal efficiency by BAC. In this study, bench and pilot tests were conducted to investigate the effect of low frequency ultrasound on DON removal by 10-year BAC. The results indicated that low frequency ultrasound significantly improved the DON removal rate increased from 15.83 % to 85.87 % and considerably inhibited the nitrogenous disinfection by-products (N-DBPs) formation potential, which was attributed to a decrease in the production of lipid-like, carbohydrate-like, and protein/amino sugar-like DON. The biomass on the BAC was significantly reduced after ultrasound treatment, and it decreased from 349.56∼388.98 nmol P/gBAC to 310.12∼377.63 nmol P/gBAC, enabling the biofilm thickness to decrease and the surface to become sparse and porous, which was conducive to oxygen and nutrients transfer. The Rhizobials associated with microbe-derived DON were stripped away during ultrasound treatment, which reduced microbe-derived DON associated with amino acids. Additionally, ultrasound regulated metabolic pathways, including amino acids, tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle, and nucleotide metabolism, to improve the osmotic pressure of the biofilm. In short, low frequency ultrasound treatment can enhance BAC biological properties and effectively remove DON and N-DBPs formation potentials, which provides a viable and promising strategy for improving the safety of drinking water in practice.
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Affiliation(s)
- Congcong Li
- College of Environment, Hohai University, Nanjing 210098, PR China; School of Water Conservancy and Environment, University of Jinan, Jinan 250022, Shandong, PR China
| | - Cheng Liu
- College of Environment, Hohai University, Nanjing 210098, PR China.
| | - Yiwen Shan
- College of Environment, Hohai University, Nanjing 210098, PR China
| | - Tong Lan
- College of Environment, Hohai University, Nanjing 210098, PR China
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Zeng J, Zhang M, Qin X, He Y, Liu X, Zhu Y, Liu Z, Li W, Dong H, Qiang Z, Lian J. Quenching residual H 2O 2 from UV/H 2O 2 with granular activated carbon: A significant impact of bicarbonate. CHEMOSPHERE 2024; 354:141670. [PMID: 38462184 DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2024.141670] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/01/2023] [Revised: 03/06/2024] [Accepted: 03/06/2024] [Indexed: 03/12/2024]
Abstract
UV/H2O2 has been used as an advanced oxidation process to remove organic micropollutants from drinking water. It is essential to quench residual H2O2 to prevent increased chlorine demand during chlorination/chloramination and within distribution systems. Granular activated carbon (GAC) filter can quench the residual oxidant and eliminate some of the dissolved organic matter. However, knowledge on the kinetics and governing factors of GAC quenching of residual H2O2 from UV/H2O2 and the mechanism underlying the enhancement of the process by HCO3- is limited. Therefore, this study aimed to analyse the kinetics and influential factors, particularly the significant impact of bicarbonate (HCO3-). H2O2 decomposition by GAC followed first-order kinetics, and the rate constants normalised by the GAC dosage (kn) were steady (1.6 × 10-3 L g-1 min-1) with variations in the GAC dosage and initial H2O2 concentration. Alkaline conditions favour H2O2 quenching. The content of basic groups exhibited a stronger correlation with the efficiency of GAC in quenching H₂O₂ than did the acidic groups, with their specific kn values being 8.9 and 2.4 min-1 M-1, respectively. The presence of chloride, sulfate, nitrate, and dissolved organic matter inhibited H2O2 quenching, while HCO3- promoted it. The interfacial hydroxyl radical (HO•) zones were visualised on the GAC surface, and HCO3- addition increased the HO• concentration. HCO3- increased the concentration of persistent free radicals (PFRs) on the GAC surface, which mainly contributed to HO• generation. A significant enhancement of HCO3- on H2O2 quenching by GAC was also verified in real water. This study revealed the synergistic mechanism of HCO3- and GAC on H2O2 quenching and presents the potential applications of residual H2O2 in the H2O2-based oxidation processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jinfeng Zeng
- Jiangxi Provincial Key Laboratory of Water Ecological Conservation at Headwater Regions, Jiangxi University of Science and Technology, 1958 Ke-jia Road, Ganzhou, 341000, China; Hydrology and Water Resources Monitoring Center for Ganjiang Upstream Watershed, 8 Zhang-jia-wei Road, Ganzhou, 341000, China
| | - Miao Zhang
- Jiangxi Provincial Key Laboratory of Water Ecological Conservation at Headwater Regions, Jiangxi University of Science and Technology, 1958 Ke-jia Road, Ganzhou, 341000, China; Guyang Water Conservancy Agricultural Machinery Management Service Station, Zhenjiang, 212100, China
| | - Xinxin Qin
- Jiangxi Provincial Key Laboratory of Water Ecological Conservation at Headwater Regions, Jiangxi University of Science and Technology, 1958 Ke-jia Road, Ganzhou, 341000, China
| | - Yi He
- Jiangxi Provincial Key Laboratory of Water Ecological Conservation at Headwater Regions, Jiangxi University of Science and Technology, 1958 Ke-jia Road, Ganzhou, 341000, China
| | - Xinyue Liu
- Jiangxi Provincial Key Laboratory of Water Ecological Conservation at Headwater Regions, Jiangxi University of Science and Technology, 1958 Ke-jia Road, Ganzhou, 341000, China
| | - Yichun Zhu
- Jiangxi Provincial Key Laboratory of Water Ecological Conservation at Headwater Regions, Jiangxi University of Science and Technology, 1958 Ke-jia Road, Ganzhou, 341000, China
| | - Zuwen Liu
- Jiangxi Provincial Key Laboratory of Water Ecological Conservation at Headwater Regions, Jiangxi University of Science and Technology, 1958 Ke-jia Road, Ganzhou, 341000, China; National-local Joint Engineering Laboratory of Water Engineering Safety and Efficient Utilization of Resources in Poyang Lake Watershed, Nanchang Institute of Technology, Nanchang, 330099, China
| | - Wentao Li
- Key Laboratory of Drinking Water Science and Technology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 18 Shuang-qing Road, Beijing, 100085, China
| | - Huiyu Dong
- Key Laboratory of Drinking Water Science and Technology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 18 Shuang-qing Road, Beijing, 100085, China
| | - Zhimin Qiang
- Key Laboratory of Drinking Water Science and Technology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 18 Shuang-qing Road, Beijing, 100085, China
| | - Junfeng Lian
- Jiangxi Provincial Key Laboratory of Water Ecological Conservation at Headwater Regions, Jiangxi University of Science and Technology, 1958 Ke-jia Road, Ganzhou, 341000, China.
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Shi S, Wang F, Hu Y, Zhou J, Zhang H, He C. Effects of running time on biological activated carbon filters: water purification performance and microbial community evolution. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND POLLUTION RESEARCH INTERNATIONAL 2024; 31:21509-21523. [PMID: 38393555 DOI: 10.1007/s11356-024-32421-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/25/2023] [Accepted: 02/07/2024] [Indexed: 02/25/2024]
Abstract
Ozone-biologically activated carbon (BAC) filtration is an advanced treatment process that can be applied to remove recalcitrant organic micro-pollutants in drinking water treatment plants (DWTPs). In this study, we continuously monitored a new and an old BAC filter in a DWTP for 1 year to compare their water purification performance and microbial community evolution. The results revealed that, compared with the new filter, the use of the old BAC filter facilitated a slightly lower rate of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) removal. In the case of the new BAC filter, we recorded general increases in the biomass and microbial diversity of the biofilm with a prolongation of operating time, with the biomass stabilizing after 7 months. For both new and old BAC filters, Proteobacteria and Acidobacteria were the dominant bacterial phyla. At the genus level, the microbial community gradually shifted over the course of operation from a predominance of Herminiimonas and Hydrogenophaga to one predominated by Bradyrhizbium, Bryobacter, Hyphomicrobium, and Pedomicrobium, with Bradyrhizobium being established as the most abundant genus in the old BAC filter. Regarding spatial distribution, we detected reductions in the biomass and number of operational taxonomic units with increasing biofilm depth, whereas there was a corresponding increase in microbial diversity. However, compared with the effects of time, the influence of depth on the composition of the biofilm microbial community was considerably smaller. Furthermore, co-occurrence network analysis revealed that the microbial community network of the new filter after 11 months of operation was the most tightly connected, although its modular coefficient was the lowest of those assessed. We speculate that the positive and negative interactions within the network may be attributable to symbiotic or competitive relationships among species. Moreover, there may have been a significant negative interaction between SWB02 and Acidovorax, plausibly associated with a competition for substrates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shuangjia Shi
- School of Environmental and Chemical Engineering, Shanghai University, Shanghai, 200444, China
| | - Feifei Wang
- School of Environmental and Chemical Engineering, Shanghai University, Shanghai, 200444, China.
| | - Yulin Hu
- School of Environmental and Chemical Engineering, Shanghai University, Shanghai, 200444, China
| | - Jie Zhou
- School of Environmental and Chemical Engineering, Shanghai University, Shanghai, 200444, China
| | - Haiting Zhang
- School of Environmental and Chemical Engineering, Shanghai University, Shanghai, 200444, China
| | - Chiquan He
- School of Environmental and Chemical Engineering, Shanghai University, Shanghai, 200444, China
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Xue B, Guo X, Cao J, Yang S, Qiu Z, Wang J, Shen Z. The occurrence, ecological risk, and control of disinfection by-products from intensified wastewater disinfection during the COVID-19 pandemic. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2023; 900:165602. [PMID: 37478942 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.165602] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/12/2023] [Revised: 07/13/2023] [Accepted: 07/15/2023] [Indexed: 07/23/2023]
Abstract
Increased disinfection of wastewater to preserve its microbiological quality during the coronavirus infectious disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic have inevitably led to increased production of toxic disinfection by-products (DBPs). However, there is limited information on such DBPs (i.e., trihalomethanes, haloacetic acids, nitrosamines, and haloacetonitriles). This review focused on the upsurge of chlorine-based disinfectants (such as chlorine, chloramine and chlorine dioxide) in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) in the global response to COVID-19. The formation and distribution of DBPs in wastewater were then analyzed to understand the impacts of these large-scale usage of disinfectants in WWTPs. In addition, potential ecological risks associated with DBPs derived from wastewater disinfection and its receiving water bodies were summarized. Finally, various approaches for mitigating DBP levels in wastewater and suggestions for further research into the environmental risks of increased wastewater disinfection were provided. Overall, this study presented a comprehensive overview of the formation, distribution, potential ecological risks, and mitigating approaches of DBPs derived from wastewater disinfection that will facilitate appropriate wastewater disinfection techniques selection, potential ecological risk assessment, and removal approaches and regulations consideration.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bin Xue
- Tianjin Institute of Environmental and Operational Medicine, Key Laboratory of Risk Assessment and Control for Environment and Food Safety, Tianjin, 300050, China
| | - Xuan Guo
- State Key Laboratory of NBC Protection for Civilian, Research Institute of Chemical Defense, Academy of Military Science, Beijing 102205, China
| | - Jinrui Cao
- Tianjin Institute of Environmental and Operational Medicine, Key Laboratory of Risk Assessment and Control for Environment and Food Safety, Tianjin, 300050, China
| | - Shuran Yang
- Tianjin Institute of Environmental and Operational Medicine, Key Laboratory of Risk Assessment and Control for Environment and Food Safety, Tianjin, 300050, China
| | - Zhigang Qiu
- Tianjin Institute of Environmental and Operational Medicine, Key Laboratory of Risk Assessment and Control for Environment and Food Safety, Tianjin, 300050, China
| | - Jingfeng Wang
- Tianjin Institute of Environmental and Operational Medicine, Key Laboratory of Risk Assessment and Control for Environment and Food Safety, Tianjin, 300050, China.
| | - Zhiqiang Shen
- Tianjin Institute of Environmental and Operational Medicine, Key Laboratory of Risk Assessment and Control for Environment and Food Safety, Tianjin, 300050, China.
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Shitu A, Chen W, Tadda MA, Zhang Y, Ye Z, Liu D, Zhu S, Zhao J. Enhanced aquaculture wastewater treatment in a biofilm reactor filled with sponge/ferrous oxalate/biochar composite (Sponge-C 2FeO 4@NBC) biocarriers: Performance and mechanism. CHEMOSPHERE 2023; 330:138772. [PMID: 37098362 DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2023.138772] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/17/2022] [Revised: 03/14/2023] [Accepted: 04/22/2023] [Indexed: 05/14/2023]
Abstract
Fabricating low-cost and efficient biofilm carriers for moving bed biofilm reactors in wastewater treatment is crucial for achieving environmental sustainability. Herein, a novel sponge biocarrier doped with NaOH-loaded biochar and nano ferrous oxalate (sponge-C2FeO4@NBC) was prepared and evaluated for nitrogenous compounds removal from recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS) wastewater by stepwise increasing ammonium nitrogen (NH4+-N) loading rates. The prepared NBC, sponge-C2FeO4@NBC, and matured biofilms were characterized using SEM, FTIR, BET, and N2 adsorption-desorption techniques. The results reveal that the highest removal rates of NH4+-N reached 99.28 ± 1.3% was yielded by the bioreactor filled with sponge-C2FeO4@NBC, with no obvious nitrite (NO2--N) accumulation in the final phase. The reactor packed with sponge-C2FeO4@NBC biocarrier had the highest relative abundance of functional microorganisms responsible for nitrogen metabolism than in the control reactor, confirmed from 16S rRNA gene sequencing analysis. Our study provides new insights into the newly developed biocarriers for enhancing RAS biofilters treatment performance in keeping water quality within the acceptable level for the rearing of aquatic species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Abubakar Shitu
- College of Bio-systems Engineering and Food Science, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310058, China; Department of Agricultural and Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Bayero University, Kano, Nigeria.
| | - Wei Chen
- College of Bio-systems Engineering and Food Science, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310058, China
| | - Musa Abubakar Tadda
- College of Bio-systems Engineering and Food Science, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310058, China; Department of Agricultural and Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Bayero University, Kano, Nigeria
| | - Yadong Zhang
- College of Bio-systems Engineering and Food Science, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310058, China
| | - Zhangying Ye
- College of Bio-systems Engineering and Food Science, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310058, China; Ocean Academy, Zhejiang University, Zhoushan, 316021, China
| | - Dezhao Liu
- College of Bio-systems Engineering and Food Science, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310058, China
| | - Songming Zhu
- College of Bio-systems Engineering and Food Science, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310058, China; Ocean Academy, Zhejiang University, Zhoushan, 316021, China.
| | - Jian Zhao
- College of Bio-systems Engineering and Food Science, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310058, China.
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Li C, Liu C, Feng C, Lan T. Exploring the impacts of service life of biological activated carbon on dissolved organic nitrogen removal. ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION (BARKING, ESSEX : 1987) 2023; 323:121214. [PMID: 36740163 DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2023.121214] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/16/2022] [Revised: 01/28/2023] [Accepted: 02/03/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
The biological activated carbon (BAC) process has been widely used in drinking water treatment to improve the removal of pollutants, including the precursors of nitrogenous disinfection byproducts (N-DBPs). Nevertheless, old BAC filter effluent DON concentration is heightened, increasing the highly toxic N-DBPs formation potential. Herein, the variation of dissolved organic nitrogen (DON) was comprehensively explored during one backwashing cycle, focusing on four BAC age (0.3, 2, 5, and 10 years) for BAC filters in drinking water. Comparatively, the removal rate of DON by four BAC followed the order 0.3-yr BAC (39.69%-66.96%) >2-yr BAC (10.10%-39.78%) >5-yr BAC (-4.18%-29.63%)>10-yr BAC (-20.88%-19.87%). When at day 7 after backwashing, 10-yr BAC filter effluent increased at least 13.71% of DON and considerably elevated the N-DBPs formation potential, which was attributed to the ultimate production of more various proteins/amino sugars-like compounds by microbes. In comparisons of microbial community between all BAC samples, Rhizobials were more prevalent in 10-yr BAC and could produce microbe-derived DON associated with amino acids. Moreover, microbes regulated metabolic pathways, including amino acid biosynthesis, TCA cycle, purine metabolism, and pyrimidine metabolism, to enhance the adaptive cellular machinery in response to environmental stressors, and therefore accelerated microbial secretion of microbe-derived DON. Structural equation model (SEM) analysis investigated that BAC age had bio-effects on N-DBPs formation potential, which were delivered via the linkage of " BAC age, microbial community, microbial metabolism, and DON molecular characteristics". Our findings demonstrate the necessity of reconsidering the feasibility of BAC filters for long-time operation, which has implications for future N-DBPs precursors control in drinking water.
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Affiliation(s)
- Congcong Li
- College of Environment, Hohai University, Nanjing, 210098, PR China
| | - Cheng Liu
- College of Environment, Hohai University, Nanjing, 210098, PR China; Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Integrated Regulation and Resource Development on Shallow Lakes, Hohai University, Nanjing, 210098, PR China.
| | - Changlong Feng
- College of Environment, Hohai University, Nanjing, 210098, PR China
| | - Tong Lan
- College of Environment, Hohai University, Nanjing, 210098, PR China
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