Presence and fate of coliphages and enteric viruses in three wastewater treatment plants effluents and activated sludge from Tunisia

Purpose

The role of water in the transmission of infectious diseases is well defined; it may act as a reservoir of different types of pathogens. Enteric viruses can survive and persist for a long time in water, maintaining infectivity in many instances. This suggests the need to include virus detection in the evaluation of the microbiological quality of waters.

Methods

In this study, enteric viruses (enteroviruses and hepatitis A virus (HAV)) were investigated by RT-PCR and coliphages (known as indicators of viral contamination) were enumerated with the double-layer technique agar in effluents and sewage sludge from three Tunisian wastewater treatment plants.

Results and discussion

The molecular detection of enteric viruses revealed 7.7% of positive activated sludge samples for enteroviruses. None of the samples was positive for HAV. Molecular virus detection threshold was estimated to be 10³?PFU/100?ml. All samples contained high concentrations of coliphages except those of dry sludge. Reductions in the concentrations of bacteriophages attained by the wastewater treatment plants are of the order of magnitude as reductions described elsewhere. Peak concentrations in raw wastewater were associated with winter rains and suspended materials rate in analysed samples. Our data which is the first in North Africa showed that similar trends of coliphages distribution to other studies in other countries.

Conclusion

No clear correlation between studied enteric viruses and coliphages concentration was proved. Coliphages abundance in collected samples should raise concerns about human enteric viruses transmission as these residues are reused in agricultural fields.     

三氯乙烯在苯酚菌中的共代谢降解性能研究

通过生物降解实验考察三氯乙烯(TCE)在苯酚驯化微生物中的共代谢降解性能,并进行动力学分析。结果表明,苯酚是TCE-苯酚共代谢过程必不可少的共代谢基质;TCE的共代谢降解与苯酚和TCE初始浓度有关。TCE在降解初期会出现一个短暂的迟滞期,TCE的大量降解要在苯酚被利用后才发生;高质量浓度TCE(>9mg/L)对共代谢降解有抑制作用。苯酚/TCE(质量比)在10～15以上时,苯酚菌对TCE的去除率较大。Haldane模型能够很好地拟合苯酚和TCE的比降解速率。动力学分析表明,微生物对苯酚的亲和力要大于TCE,苯酚对TCE共降解具有竞争性抑制作用,TCE对微生物存在毒性抑制作用;结果证实了生物降解实验的结论。     

Assessment of heterogeneity of metal composition of fine particulate matter collected from eight U.S. counties using principal component analysis

The main objectives of this study are to (1) characterize chemical constituents of particulate matter (PM) and (2) compare overall differences in PM collected from eight US. counties. This project was undertaken as a part of a larger research program conducted by the Johns Hopkins Particulate Matter Research Center (JHPMRC). The goal of the JHPMRC is to explore the relationship between health effects and exposure to ambient PM of differing composition. The JHPMRC collected weekly filter-based ambient fine particle samples from eight US. counties between January 2008 and January 2010. Each sampling effort consisted of a 5-6-week sampling period. Filters were analyzed for 25 metals using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). Overall compositional differences were ranked by principal component analysis (PCA). The results showed that weekly concentrations of each element varied 3-40 times between the eight counties. PCA showed that the first five principal components explained 85% of the total variance. The authors found significant overall compositional differences in PM as the average of standardized principal component scores differed between the counties. These findings demonstrate PCA is a useful tool to identify the differences in PM compositional mixtures by county. These differences will be helpful for epidemiological and toxicological studies to help explain why health risks associated with PM exposure are different in locations with similar mass concentrations of PM.     

零价铁复合有机膨润土处理染料废水的研究

针对目前印染废水处理现状及膨润土在水处理中回收困难等问题,提出将零价铁复合到有机膨润土中制成零价铁复合有机膨润土(ZVI-OB),以达到高效吸附并降解污染物的目的。以染料废水(Orange II) 作为研究对象,考察了废水中染料的初始浓度、pH以及吸附时间对ZVI-OB去除染料效率的影响,并研究了吸附后降解过程中时间和pH对污染物降解的影响以及降解前后膨润土层结构的变化。研究结果表明,ZVI-OB相对于CTMAB改性的有机膨润土而言,其吸附量有所降低,但ZVI-OB在吸附污染物之后能有效降解有机物。ZVI-OB在饱和吸附Orange II后经催化氧化,总有机碳含量降低为原来的19%,可以重复利用。     

几种腐殖填料生物滤池COD去除效能比较研究

分别采用腐殖垃圾、泥炭、煤炭等腐殖填料及河沙构筑生物滤池,处理模拟废水,比较研究其COD去除效能及降解特征,为工艺填料改性提供理论依据。几种填料的扫描电镜分析图显示腐殖垃圾及泥炭以团聚体三维空间结构为主;煤炭与河沙表面粗糙程度较小,且主要由颗粒状物质构成。稀释平板涂布法分离出各生物滤池中发挥主要作用的微生物共3种,各系统菌落数量有差异,但种类相同。3种腐殖填料生物滤池在进水有机物浓度为500 mg/L及1000 mg/L时均有较理想的有机物去除效率。3种腐殖填料生物滤池中泥炭构筑的腐殖填料生物滤池有机物比降解速率最小,因而微生物比增长速率最小,微生物增长和自身氧化最易趋向于动态平衡,对应的饱和水力渗透系数最大,滤池最不易发生堵塞,最有利于腐殖填料生物滤池长期稳定运行,证明泥炭是一种优良的生物介质。     

纳米二氧化钛复合石墨烯催化剂的制备及处理染料废水

以硫酸钛为原料,采用共沉淀法,制备了一系列纳米二氧化钛复合石墨烯催化剂,采用XRD和FTIR对样品进行表征。通过紫外光照射亚甲基蓝溶液光催化降解实验,研究石墨烯的加入量对TiO2光催化性能的影响,结果表明,TiO2-GO-5具有最佳的光催化性能。在pH=6.00、TiO2-GO-5的投加量为0.070 g/50 mL、光照3 h条件下,100 mg/L亚甲基蓝溶液的脱色率达到最大值为90.52%。     

不同运行模式对同步脱氮除磷CAST工艺快速启动及其稳定维持的影响

以实际生活污水为处理对象,考察了传统进水/曝气和改良型分段进水的交替缺氧-好氧(A/O)2种运行模式对CAST工艺的快速启动及脱氮除磷性能稳定维持的影响。结果表明,传统进水/曝气运行模式下,系统达到最佳营养物去除性能所需启动时间30 d,稳定运行阶段TN平均去除80.66%,磷的去除率维持在66.30%左右;采用改良型交替运行模式,反应器达到稳定运行状态仅需18 d,系统稳定运行时TN平均去除81.36%,磷去除率稳定维持在90%以上,出水磷浓度在0.3 mg/L以下,出水水质达到国家污水综合排放标准一级A(GB8978-2002)。研究还发现,传统运行模式下,由低温引起的污泥沉降性能变差导致系统污泥严重流失,反应器几乎丧失污染物去除性能;而低温对交替运行模式下的反应器除磷性能几乎没有影响,总氮去除则因氨氮不完全硝化而大大降低。     

响应面优化CCl4增强超声降解左旋氧氟沙星模拟废水

利用响应面优化实验设计方法对CCl₄增强超声降解左旋氧氟沙星模拟废水的影响因素进行探讨和分析,考察了溶液初始pH值、超声功率、左旋氧氟沙星初始浓度的影响。应用Box-Behnken中心组合设计得到一个二次多项式数学模型,确定了US/CCl₄降解左旋氧氟沙星的优化条件:初始pH值6.8,超声功率189 W,左旋氧氟沙星初始浓度为5 mg/L时,左旋氧氟沙星的去除率达到最大(82.99%)。经实验验证, 实际值与模型预测值吻合性良好,偏差仅为0.036%。     

Structural changes in soil communities after triclopyr application in soils invaded by Acacia dealbata Link

Triclopyr is a commonly used herbicide in the control of woody plants and can exhibit toxic effects to soil microorganisms. However, the impact on soils invaded by plant exotics has not yet been addressed. Here, we present the results of an 18-month field study conducted to evaluate the impact of triclopyr on the structure of fungal and bacterial communities in soils invaded by Acacia dealbata Link, through the use of denature gradient gel electrophoresis. After triclopyr application, analyses of bacterial fingerprints suggested a change in the structure of the soil bacterial community, whereas the structure of the soil fungal community remained unaltered. Bacterial density and F:B ratio values changed across the year but were not altered due to herbicide spraying. On the contrary, fungal diversity was increased in plots sprayed with triclopyr 5 months after the first application. Richness and diversity (H´) of both bacteria and fungi were not modified after triclopyr application.     

Adverse birth outcomes in the vicinity of industrial installations in Spain 2004–2008

Industrial activity is one of the main sources of ambient pollution in developed countries. However, research analyzing its effect on birth outcomes is inconclusive. We analyzed the association between proximity of mother’s municipality of residence to industries from 24 different activity groups and risk of very (VPTB) and moderate (MPTB) preterm birth, very (VLBW) and moderate (MLBW) low birth weight, and small for gestational age (SGA) in Spain, 2004–2008. An ecological study was defined, and a “near vs. far” analysis (3.5 km threshold) was carried out using Hierarchical Bayesian models implemented via Integrated Nested Laplace Approximation. VPTB risk was higher for mothers living near pharmaceutical companies. Proximity to galvanization and hazardous waste management industries increased the risk of MPTB. Risk of VLBW was higher for mothers residing near pharmaceutical and non-hazardous or animal waste management industries. For MLBW many associations were found, being notable the proximity to mining, biocides and animal waste management plants. The strongest association for SGA was found with proximity to management animal waste plants. These results highlight the importance of further research on the relationship between proximity to industrial sites and the occurrence of adverse birth outcomes especially for the case of pharmaceutical and animal waste management activities.