Biological removal of antiandrogenic activity in gray wastewater and coking wastewater by membrane reactor process

A recombinant human androgen receptor yeast assay was applied to investigate the occurrence of antiandrogens as well as the mechanism for their removal during gray wastewater and coking wastewater treatment. The membrane reactor (MBR) system for gray wastewater treatment could remove 88.0% of antiandrogenic activity exerted by weakly polar extracts and 97.3% of that by moderately strong polar extracts, but only 32.5% of that contributed by strong polar extracts. Biodegradation by microorganisms in the MBR contributed to 95.9% of the total removal. After the treatment, the concentration of antiandrogenic activity in the effluent was still 1.05 μg flutamide equivalence (FEQ)/L, 36.2% of which was due to strong polar extracts. In the anaerobic reactor, anoxic reactor, and membrane reactor system for coking wastewater treatment, the antiandrogenic activity of raw coking wastewater was 78.6 mg FEQ/L, and the effluent of the treatment system had only 0.34 mg FEQ/L. The antiandrogenic activity mainly existed in the medium strong polar and strong polar extracts. Biodegradation by microorganisms contributed to at least 89.2% of the total antiandrogenic activity removal in the system. Biodegradation was the main removal mechanism of antiandrogenic activity in both the wastewater treatment systems.     

Pulsed corona discharge for improving treatability of coking wastewater

Coking wastewater(CW) contains toxic and macromolecular substances that inhibit biological treatment. The refractory compounds remaining in biologically treated coking wastewater(BTCW) provide chemical oxygen demand(COD) and color levels that make it unacceptable for reuse or disposal. Gas-phase pulsed corona discharge(PCD) utilizing mostly hydroxyl radicals and ozone as oxidants was applied to both raw coking wastewater(RCW) and BTCW wastewater as a supplemental treatment. The energy efficiency of COD,phenol, thiocyanate and cyanide degradation by PCD was the subject of the research. The cost-effective removal of intermediate oxidation products with addition of lime was also studied. The energy efficiency of oxidation was inversely proportional to the pulse repetition frequency: lower frequency allows more effective utilization of ozone at longer treatment times. Oxidative treatment of RCW showed the removal of phenol and thiocyanate at 800 pulses per second from 611 to 227 mg/L and from 348 to 86 mg/L, respectively, at 42 k Wh/m~3 delivered energy, with substantial improvement in the BOD5/COD ratio(from 0.14 to 0.43).The COD and color of BTCW were removed by 30% and 93%, respectively, at 20 k Wh/m~3,showing energy efficiency for the PCD treatment exceeding that of conventional ozonation by a factor of 3–4. Application of lime appeared to be an effective supplement to the PCD treatment of RCW, degrading COD by about 28% at an energy input of 28 k Wh/m3 and the lime dose of 3.0 kg/m~3. The improvement of RCW treatability is attributed to the degradation of toxic substances and fragmentation of macromolecular compounds.     

Effect of electric intensity on the microbial degradation of petroleum pollutants in soil

Electro-bioremediation is an innovative method to remedy organic-polluted soil. However, the principle of electrokinetic technology enhancing the function of microbes, especially the relationship of electric intensity and biodegradation efficiency, is poorly investigated. Petroleum was employed as a target organic pollutant at a level of 50 g/kg (mass of petroleum/mass of dry soil). A direct current power supply was used for tests with a constant direct current electric voltage (1.0 V/cm). The petroleum concentrations were measured at 3275–3285 nm after extraction using hexane, the group composition of crude oil was analyzed by column chromatography. The water content of soil was kept 25% (m/m). The results indicated the degradation process was divided into two periods: from day 1 to day 40, from day 41 to day 100. The treatment of soil with an appropriate electric field led the bacteria to have a persistent effect in the whole period of 100 days. The highest biodegradation efficiency of 45.5% was obtained after treatment with electric current and bacteria. The electric-bioremediation had a positive effect on alkane degradation. The degradation rate of alkane was 1.6 times higher in the soil exposed to electric current than that treated with bacteria for 100 days. A proper direct current could stimulate the microbial activities and accelerate the biodegradation of petroleum. There was a positive correlation between the electric intensities and the petroleum bioremediation efficiencies with a coefficient of 0.9599.     

Ion-exchange polymers modified bacterial cellulose electrodes for the selective removal of nitrite ions from tail water of dyeing wastewater

Ion-exchange polymer and modified carbonization bacterial cellulose(CBC) electrodes were fabricated using varying amounts of cation-exchange polymers(glutaric acid(GA) and sulfosuccinic acid(SSA)) and assembled within an asymmetric capacitive deionization unit(p-CDI).The performance of selective NO_2~-electro-adsorption was studied.The AC/CBCSSA group showed a better salt adsorption capacity(14.56 mg/g) and nitrite removal efficiency(71.01%) than the AC/CBC-GA(10.72 mg/g,47.83%) and AC/AC(4.81 mg/g,12.74%)groups.It was confirmed that the CBC-SSA/GA electrodes enhanced nitrite selectivity and increased the adsorption capacity,and the total amounts of adsorbed anions increased when the applied voltage was increased from 0.8 to 1.2 V,while the molar fraction of nitrate decreased.The competitive and preferential adsorption of anions was further investigated using different binary solutions of anions and occurred in the following sequence:NO_2~- SO_4~(2-) NO_3~- F~-≈Cl~-.Furthermore,the p-CDI units were applied to remove nitrite in real wastewater samples,and the results showed that they had excellent reusability and application for use in dyeing wastewater treatment.     

Community analysis of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria in activated sludge of eight wastewater treatment systems

We investigated the communities of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria(AOB) in activated sludge collected from eight wastewater treatment systems using polymerase chain reaction(PCR) followed by terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism(T-RFLP),cloning,and sequencing of the α-subunit of the ammonia monooxygenase gene(amoA).The T-RFLP fingerprint analyses showed that different wastewater treatment systems harbored distinct AOB communities.However,there was no remarkable difference among the AOB TRFLP profiles from different parts of the same system.The T-RFLP fingerprints showed that a full-scale wastewater treatment plant(WWTP) contained a larger number of dominant AOB species than a pilot-scale reactor.The source of influent affected the AOB community,and the WWTPs treating domestic wastewater contained a higher AOB diversity than those receiving mixed domestic and industrial wastewater.However,the AOB community structure was little affected by the treatment process in this study.Phylogenetic analysis of the cloned amoA genes clearly indicated that all the dominant AOB in the systems was closely related to Nitrosomonas spp.not to Nitrosospira spp.Members of the Nitrosomonas oligotropha and Nitrosomonas communis clusters were found in all samples,while members of Nitrosomonas europaea cluster occurred in some systems.     

Waste oyster shell as a kind of active filler to treat the combined wastewater at an estuary

Estuaries have been described as one of the most difficult environments on Earth. It is difficult to know how to treat the combined wastewater in tidal rivers at the estuary, where the situation is very different from ordinary fresh water rivers. Waste oyster shell was used as the active filler in this study in a bio-contact oxidation tank to treat the combined wastewater at the Fengtang Tidal River. With a middle-experimental scale of 360 ma/day, the average removal efficiency of COD, BOD, NH3-N, TP and TSS was 80.05%, 85.02%, 86.59%, 50.58% and 85.32%, respectively, in this bio-contact oxidation process. The living microbes in the biofilms on the waste oyster shell in this bio-contact oxidation tank, which were mainly composed of zoogloea, protozoa and micro-metazoa species, revealed that waste oyster shell as the filler was suitable material for combined wastewater degradation. This treatment method using waste oyster shell as active filler was then applied in a mangrove demonstration area for water quality improvement near the experiment area, with a treatment volume of 5 × 10^3 m^3/day. Another project was also successfully applied in a constructed wetland, with a wastewater treatment volume of 1 ×10^3 m^3/day. This technology is therefore feasible and can easily be applied on a larger scale,     

Chemical oxygen demand reduction in coffee wastewater through chemical flocculation and advanced oxidation processes

The removal of the natural organic matter present in coffee processing wastewater through chemical coagulation-flocculation and advanced oxidation processes （AOP） had been studied. The effectiveness of the removal of natural organic matter using commercial flocculants and UV/H202, UV/O3 and UV/H2O2/O3 processes was determined under acidic conditions. For each of these processes, different operational conditions were explored to optimize the treatment efficiency of the coffee wastewater. Coffee wastewater is characterized by a high chemical oxygen demand （COD） and low total suspended solids. The outcomes of coffee wastewater treatment using coagulation-flocculation and photodegradation processes were assessed in terms of reduction of COD, color, and turbidity. It was found that a reduction in COD of 67% could be realized when the coffee wastewater was treated by chemical coagulation-flocculation with lime and coagulant T-1. When coffee wastewater was treated by coagulation-flocculation in combination with UV/H2O2, a COD reduction of 86% was achieved, although only after prolonged UV irradiation. Of the three advanced oxidation processes considered, UV/H2O2, UV/O3 and UV/H2O2/O3, we found that the treatment with UV/H2O2/O3 was the most effective, with an efficiency of color, turbidity and further COD removal of 87%, when applied to the flocculated coffee wastewater.     

Micro-electrolysis technology for industrial wastewater treatment

Experiments were conducted to study the role of micro-electrolysis in removing chromaticity and COD and improving the biodegradability of wastewater from pharmaceutical.dye-printing and papermaking plants.Results showed that the use of micro-electrolysis technology could remove more than 90% of chromaticity and more than 50% of COD and greatly improved the biodegradability of pharmaceutical wastewater.Lower initial pH could be advantageous to the removal of chromaticity. A retention time of 30 minutes was recommended for the process design of micro-electrolysis.For the use of micro-electrolysis in treatment of dye-printing wastewater,the removal rates of both chromaticity and COD were increased from neutral condition to acid condition for disperse blue wastewater;more than 90% of chromaticity and more than 50% of COD could be removed in neutral condition for vital red wastewater.     

The fate of prazosin and levonorgestrel after electrochemical degradation process: Monitoring by-products using LC-TOF/MS

Prazosin (PRZ) and levonorgestrel (LNG) are widely used as an anti-disease drugs due to their biological activity in the human body. The frequent detection of these compounds in water samples requires alternative technologies for the removal of both compounds. After electrochemical degradation of PRZ and LNG, the parent compounds could be completely removed after treatment, but the identification and characterization of by-products are necessary as well. In this study, the effects of NaCl concentration and applied voltage were investigated during the electrochemical degradation process. The results revealed that the increase of NaCl concentration and applied voltage could promote the generation of hypochlorite OCl? and then enhance the degradation of PRZ and LNG. After initial study, 6 V and 0.2 g NaCl were selected for further experiments (96% and 99% removal of PRZ and LNG after 40 min, respectively). Energy consumption was also evaluated and calculated for PRZ and LNG at 3, 6 and 8 V. Solid phase extraction (SPE) method plays an important role in enhancing the detection limit of by-products. Furthermore, characterization and identification of chlorinated and non-chlorinated by-products were conducted using an accurate liquid chromatography-time of flight/mass spectrometry LC-TOF/MS instrument. The monitoring of products during the electrochemical degradation process was performed at 6 V and 0.2 g NaCl in a 50 mL solution. The results indicated that two chlorinated products were formed during the electrochemical process. The toxicity of by-products toward E. coli bacteria was investigated at 37°C and 20 hr incubation time.     

Sorption behavior of tetracyclines on suspended organic matters originating from swine wastewater

Tetracyclines(TCs) discharged from livestock wastewater have aroused public concerns due to their pharmacological threats to ecosystems and human health. As an important medium in the wastewater, suspended organic matters(SOMs) play vital roles in antibiotics transport and degradation. However, limited information has been reported in the relevant literature. This study investigated TCs sorption behavior on SOM, withdrawn from swine wastewater. High TCs sorption capacities were detected, with the maximum values ranging from 0.337 to 0.679 mg/g. Increasing p H and temperature led to the decline of sorption capacity. Results from three-dimensional excitation–emission matrix fluorescence spectroscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectrometry revealed that amide and carboxyl groups were the main functional groups for TCs adsorption. The interactions between SOM and TCs were clarified as predominated by hydrogen-bonding and cation-exchange in acid conditions, and electrostatic repulsion in neutral or alkaline conditions. Adsorption kinetics modeling was conducted, and a satisfactory fitting was achieved with the Freundlich equation. These results indicated that the adsorption process was a rather complex process, involving a combination of cation-exchange and hydrogen-bonding. The results will provide a better understanding of the capability of SOM for TCs transport and abatement in the wastewater treatment process.     

Distribution and ecological effect of mercury in Laogang landfill, Shanghai, China

Laogang landfill near Shanghai is the largest landfill in China, and receives about 10000 t of daily garbage per day, Samples of topsoil and plants were analyzed to evaluate mercury pollution from the landfill. For topsoil samples, there were significant correlations among total mercury （HgT）, combinative mercury （Hgc） and gaseous mercury （HgG）, and content of total organic carbon （TOC）, but, no significantly relationship was found between Hg content and filling time. Hg content changes in vertical profiles with time showed that the average Hgv of profiles 1992, 1996, and 2000 was similar, but their average HgG was quite different. HgT was significantly correlated with Hgc in profile 1992 and 2000, and Hgv was significantly correlated with Hg6 in profile 1996. HgG/Hgv ratio in profile samples decreased in the order of （HgG,/HgT）1992〉（HgG/HgT）1996〉〉（HgG/HgT）2000. A simple outline of Hg release in landfill could be drawn： with increasing of filling time, degradation undergoes different biodegradation, accordingly, gaseous mercury goes through small, more, and small proportion to total mercury. Distribution of Hg in plants was inhomogeneous, following the order of leaf〉root〉stem. The highest value of leaf may be associated with higher atmospheric Hg from landfill. Ligneous plants （e.g. Phyllostachys glanca, Prunus salicina and Ligustrum lucidum） are capable of enriching more Hg than herbaceous plants.     

EDTA-enhanced phytoremediation of lead contaminated soil by Bidens maximowicziana

Phytoremediation is a potential cleanup technology for the removal of heavy metals from contaminated soils.Bidens maximowicziana is a new Pb hyperaccumulator,which not only has remarkable tolerance to Pb but also extraordinary accumulation capacity for Pb.The maximum Pb concentration was 1509.3 mg/kg in roots and 2164.7 mg/kg in overground tissues.The Pb distribution order in the B. maximowicziana was:leaf>stem>root.The effect of amendments on phytoremediation was also studied.The mobility of soil Pb and the Pb concentrations in plants were both increased by EDTA application.Compared with CK(control check),EDTA application promoted translocation of Pb to overground parts of the plant.The Pb concentrations in overground parts of plants was increased from 24.23-680.56 mg/kg to 29.07-1905.57 mg/kg.This research demonstrated that B.maximowicziana appeared to be suitable for phytoremediation of Pb contaminated soil,especially,combination with EDTA.     

Decomposition of alachlor by ozonation and its mechanism

Decomposition and corresponding mechanism of alachlor, an endocrine disruptor in water by ozonation were investigated. Results showed that alachlor could not be completely mineralized by ozone alone. Many intermediates and final products were formed during the process, including aromatic compounds, aliphatic carboxylic acids, and inorganic ions. In evoluting these products, some of them with weak polarity were qualitatively identified by GC-MS. The information of inorganic ions suggested that the dechlorination was the first and the fastest step in the ozonation of alachlor.     

Enzymatic oxidation of aqueous pentachlorophenol

The influence of the nonionic surfactant Tween 80 on pentachlorophenol （PCP） oxidation catalyzed by horseradish peroxidase was studied. The surfactant was tested at concentrations below and above its critical micelle concentration （CMC）. Enhancement of PCP removal was observed at sub-CMCs. The presence of Tween 80 in the reaction mixture reduced enzyme inactivation which occurred through a combination of free radical attack and sorption by precipitated products. A simple first-order model was able to simulate time profiles for enzyme inactivation in the presence or absence of Tween 80. At supra-CMCs, the surfactant caused noticeable reductions in PCP removal, presumably through micelle partitioning of PCP which precluded the hydrophobic PCP molecule from interacting with the enzyme.     

基于综合水质标识指数和对应分析法的校园河道水质评价

以三峡大学的校园河道求索溪为研究对象,利用综合水质标识指数法确定求索溪水质类别,分析其水质时空变化规律,并利用对应分析法得出求索溪中不同监测点的主要污染因子.研究结果表明:求索溪整体的综合水质标识指数为7.423,整体水质为劣V类(地表水环境质量标准GB 3838-2002)且黑臭.从时间变化来看,求索溪4月份的水质最差,5月份次之,4、5月份所有监测点的水质都劣于V类且黑臭;8月份水质最好,水质为Ⅳ类;从空间分布来看,8个监测点综合水质标识指数均超过6.0,水质为劣V类,其中6号监测点的水质相对最好,监测点3号的水质相对最差;对应分析法得出求索溪的整体水体污染程度受总氮因子的影响最大,其次为总磷.该研究拟为求索溪及类似校园河道的水环境治理研究提供基础依据和参考.     

Effects of chitosan on growth of an aquatic plant (Hydrilla verticillata) in polluted waters with different chemical oxygen demands

Effects of chitosan on a submersed plant, Hydrilla verticillata, were investigated. Results indicated that H. venicillata could prevent ultrastructure phytotoxicities and oxidativereaction from polluted water with high chemical oxygen demand (COD). Superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity and malondialdehyde (MDA) contents in H. verticillata treated with 0.1% chitosan in wastewater increased with high COD (980 mg/L) and decreased with low COD (63 mg/L), respectively. Ultrastructural analysis showed that the stroma and grana of chloroplast basically remained normal. However, plant cells from the control experiment (untreated with chitosan) were vacuolated and the cell interval increased. The relict of protoplast moved to the center, with cells tending to disjoint. Our findings indicate that wastewater with high COD concentration can cause a substantial damage to submersed plant, nevertheless, chitosan probably could alleviate the membrane lipid peroxidization and ultrastructure phytotoxicities, and protect plant cells from stress of high COD concentration polluted water.     

Removal of cadmium using MnO2 loaded D301 resin

MnO2 loaded weak basic anion exchange resin D301 （Anion exchange resin, macroreticular weak basic styrene） as adsorbent has been prepared and applied to the removal of cadmium. The adsorption characteristics have been investigated with respect to effect of pH, equilibrium isotherms, removal kinetic data, and interference of the coexisting ions. The results indicated that the Cd^2＋ could be efficiently removed using MnO2 loaded D301 resin in the pH range of 3-8 from aqueous solutions with the co-existence of high concentration of alkali and alkaline-earth metals ions. The saturate adsorption capacity of the Cd^2＋ was 77.88 mg/g. The adsorption process followed the pseudo first-order kinetics. The equilibrium data obtained in this study accorded excellently with the Langmuir adsorption isotherm.     

Effect of coagulation pretreatment on the fouling of ultrafiltration membrane

The purpose of this study is to understand the effect and mechanism of preventing membrane fouling, by coagulation pretreatment, in terms of fractional component and molecular weight of natural organic matter （NOM）. A relatively higher molecular weight （MW） of hydrophobic compounds was responsible for a rapid decline in the ultrafiltration flux. Coagulation could effectively remove the hydrophobic organics, resulting in the increase of flux. It was found that a lower MW of neutral hydrophilic compounds, which could remove inadequately by coagulation, was responsible for the slow declining flux. The fluxes in the filtration of coagulated water and supernatant water were compared and the results showed that a lower MW of neutral hydrophilic compounds remained in the supernatant water after coagulation could be rejected by a membrane, resulting in fouling. It was also found that the coagulated flocs could absorb neutral hydrophilic compounds effectively. Therefore, with the coagulated flocs formed on the membrane surface, the flux decline could be improved.     

Penetration analysis of elements and bioleaching treatment of spent refractory for recycling

Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans ATCC23270 and Acidithiobacillus thiooxidans TM-32 were used for bioleaching of spent refractories of aluminium and copper melting furnaces for their recycling.Firstly,penetration of elements into aluminium melting furnace refractory was investigated and it was found that up to 7 cm from surface was contaminated.Comparison on leaching efficiency by the strains ATCC23270 and TM-32 found that the strain ATCC23270 could treat larger amount of the refractories than the strain TM-32 could do.In the experiment of bioleaching of spent refractory aluminium melting furnace by the strain ATCC23270,high leaching efficiency were obtained on Al,Si,and Ca,and extremely low leaching performance was,however,shown on the rest of elements i.e.,Na,Mn,and Zn.Under the strain TM-32 use,relatively high leaching performance was recognized on Al,Si,Ca,Na,Mn,and Zn.In the experiment of bioleaching for spent refractory copper melting furnace,almost the same leaching trends were shown on Cu,Zn,Al,and Si under the strains ACTT23270 and TM-32 uses.     

Simultaneous removal of ammonium and phosphate by zeolite synthesized from coal fly ash as influenced by acid treatment

Zeolite synthesized from fly ash （ZFA） without modification is not efficient for the purification of NH4＋ and phosphate at low concentrations that occur in real effluents, despite the high potential removal capacity. To develop an effective technique to enhance the removal efficiency of ammonium and phosphate at low concentrations, ZFA was modified with acid treatment and the simultaneous removal of ammonium and phosphate in a wide range of concentration was investigated. It was seen that when compared with untreated ZFA, only the treatment by 0.01 mol/L of H2SO4 significantly improved the removal efficiency of ammonium at low initial concentrations. The behavior was well explained by the pH effect. Treatment by more concentrated H2SO4 led to the deterioration of the ZFA structure and a decrease in the cation exchange capacity. Treatment by 0.01 mol/L H2SO4 improved the removal efficiency of phosphate by ZFA at all initial P concentrations, while the treatment by concentrated H2SO4 （≥0.9 mol/L） resulted in a limited maximum phosphate immobilization capacity （PIC）. It was concluded that through a previous mild acid treatment （e.g. 0.01 mol/L of H2SO4）, ZFA can be used in the simultaneous removal of NH4＋ and P at low concentrations simulating real effluent.