Roman MD, Sava C, Iluțiu-Varvara DA, Mare R, Pruteanu LL, Pică EM, Jäntschi L. Biological Activated Sludge from Wastewater Treatment Plant before and during the COVID-19 Pandemic.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2022;
19:11323. [PMID:
36141596 PMCID:
PMC9517470 DOI:
10.3390/ijerph191811323]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/28/2022] [Revised: 08/31/2022] [Accepted: 09/05/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic and the related measures brought a change in daily life that affected the characteristics of the municipal wastewater and further, of the biological activated sludge. The activated sludge process is the most widely used biological wastewater treatment process in developed areas. In this paper, we aim to show the situation of specific investigations concerning the variation of the physicochemical parameters and biological composition of the activated sludge from one conventional wastewater treatment plant from a metropolitan area. The investigations were carried out for three years: 2019, 2020 and 2021. The results showed the most representative taxa of microorganisms: Microtrix, Aspidisca cicada, Vorticella convallaria, Ciliata free of the unknown and Epistylis and Rotifers. Even if other microorganisms were found in the sludge flocs, their small presence did not influence in any way the quality of the activated sludge and of the wastewater treatment process. That is why we conclude that protozoa (especially Flagellates and Ciliates) and rotifers were the most important. Together with the values and variation of the physicochemical parameters, they indicated a good, healthy, and stable activated sludge, along with an efficient purifying treatment process, no matter the loading conditions.
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