Use of Microbial Community to Evaluate Performance of a Wetland System in Treating Pb/Zn Mine Drainage

The performance of a wetland system in treating lead (Pb)/zinc (Zn) mine drainage was evaluated by using the polyurethane foam unit (PFU) microbial community (method), which has been adopted by China as a standardized procedure for monitoring water quality. The wetland system consisted of four cells with three dominant plants: Typha latifolia, Phragmites australis and Paspalum distichum. Physicochemical characteristics [pH, EC, content of total suspended solid (TSS) and metals (Pb, Zn, Cd, and Cu)] and PFU microbial community in water samples had been investigated from seven sampling sites. The results indicated that the concentrations of Pb, Zn, Cd, Cu, and TSS in the mine drainage were gradually reduced from the inlet to the outlet of the wetland system and 99%, 98%, 75%, 83%, and 68% of these metals and TSS respectively, had been reduced in concentration after the drainage passed through the wetland system. A total of 105 protozoan species were identified, the number of protozoa species and the diversity index (DI) gradually increased, while the heterotrophic index (HI) gradually decreased from the inlet to the outlet of the wetland system. The results indicated that DI, HI, and total number species of protozoa could be used as biological indicators indicating the improvement of water quality.     

Selective collection as a pretreatment for indirect solid recovered fuel generation

Effective selective collection (SC) has been increasing in many countries of the European Union. As a consequence the composition of residual municipal solid waste (RMSW) is changing not only because of economic development, but also due to the collection system. The input of RMSW treatment plants is thus not homogeneous. This paper analyses two case studies involving a total of five SC scenarios and their impact on the generation of solid recovered fuel (SRF) with/without bio-drying, post-treatment and packaging take back programs (TBPs). These case studies are based on two types of SC: kerbside and drop-off. The latest regulation on SRF classification is taken into account: energy content, Cl and Hg concentrations are assessed and discussed. The role of the respirometric index (RI) is also analyzed. Results show that when SC is highly efficient RMSW can be classified directly as SRF, but only if the introduction of RI does not set stringent respirometric targets. The role of packaging TBPs is important as the residual waste remaining after the packaging has been processed, can be valorized increasing the lower heating value (LHV) of the residual RMSW and minimizing the streams that should be landfilled. The source separation of food waste has a significant impact on the suitability of bio-drying: when the SC of food waste is very efficient, its percentage in the RMSW may be too low for effective bio-drying.     

Performance evaluation of reverse logistics enterprise – an agent-based simulation approach

Reverse logistics (RL) has been applied in many industries and sectors since its conception. Unlike forward logistics, retracing consumer goods from the point of consumption to the point of inception is not a well-studied process. It involves many uncertainties such as time, quality and quantity of returns. The returned products can be remanufactured, have parts harvested, or be disposed safely. It is important to implement these activities in a cost-effective manner. The aim of this research is to measure the performance of the RL enterprise with the help of an agent-based simulation model. The major entities in the RL network are considered as Agents that can act independently. There are several different agents: collector agent, sorting-cum-reuse agent, remanufacturing agent, recycler agent, supplier agent and distributor agent. The individual performances of the agents are measured and recommendations are given to improve their performance, leading to the enhancement of the total performance of the RL enterprise. The approach is applied to a case study involving cell phone remanufacturing.     

Long-term changes in microbial water quality indicators in a hydro-power plant reservoir: The role of natural factors and socio-economic changes

Long-term changes, from 1984 to 2010, in the indicators of microbial pollution (total viable count, coliforms, Escherichia coli, enterococci, and Clostridium perfringens) are analysed in the Riga Hydropower Plant Reservoir, an essential source of drinking water for Riga, the capital of Latvia. Counts in microbial indicators fluctuated seasonally and were related to physicochemical parameters (nitrogen compounds, turbidity, temperature, and pH). The changes in microbial pollution were brought about by two major socio-economic developments. Firstly, Latvia’s independence from the USSR in 1991 which facilitated a distinct reduction in most microorganism counts due to a sharp decline in industrial and agricultural production. This resulted in a significant drop in point and nonpoint pollution in the river basin. A further development was Latvia joining the European Union in 2004. The corresponding focus on water management, including wastewater treatment, was a major priority of environmental investment and lead to improvements in microbial water quality.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1007/s13280-020-01470-1) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

南京北郊黑碳气溶胶的来源解析

利用七波段黑碳仪对2015年1~12月南京北郊地区黑碳(black carbon,BC)气溶胶实时监测,并结合黑碳仪模型对该期间内BC进行来源解析,探讨化石燃料排放产生BC(BCff)与生物质燃烧产生BC(BCbb)各自的贡献大小.结果表明,观测期间BC的吸收波长指数(α)和生物质燃烧对BC的贡献百分比(BB)的变化范围都较大但趋势较为一致;冬季α值偏高而夏季α值较低,表明不同季节时间BC来源和强度的差异性.BCff在各季节BC总浓度中占比略有不同但均高于75%;BC、BCff和BCbb的日变化趋势均呈双峰特征,在07:00~09:00和18:00~21:00左右浓度有最大值;全天中,BCff对BC贡献最大,浓度值约为BCbb的3~5倍;夜晚BC浓度普遍高于白天,其平均浓度值是白天的1.2倍.由浓度权重轨迹分析的结果可知,影响南京北郊地区高浓度BC的源区主要集中在浙江、安徽以及江西和福建等地区.     

微生物燃料电池改性阳极处理PTA废水

探讨了不同改性阳极对微生物燃料电池(microbial fuel cell,MFC)产电性能及其对MFC处理难降解废水能力的影响.以单室空气阴极为基础,利用0.1 g电气石、质量分数75%二氧化锰/埃洛石纳米管(manganese bioxide/halloysite nanotube,MnO_2/HNT)和多壁碳纳米管-羧基(multi-walled carbon nanotube-carboxyl,MWCNT-COOH)对MFC阳极进行修饰.结果表明,不同改性阳极的MFC对含精对苯二甲酸(purified terephthalic acid,PTA)废水的去除率均高于70%,且化学需氧量(chemical oxygen demand,COD)去除率在79%以上.相较于其他几种改性阳极,以MWCNT-COOH改性材料作阳极的MFC产生的最大输出电压最高,获得的最大功率密度最高,分别为529 mV和252.73 mW·m~(-2).     

Performance of low temperature Microbial Fuel Cells (MFCs) catalyzed by mixed bacterial consortia

Microbial Fuel Cells(MFCs) are a promising technology for treating wastewater in a sustainable manner. In potential applications, low temperatures substantially reduce MFC performance. To better understand the effect of temperature and particularly how bioanodes respond to changes in temperature, we investigated the current generation of mixed-culture and pure-culture MFCs at two low temperatures, 10°C and 5°C. The results implied that the mixed-culture MFC sustainably performed better than the pure-culture(Shewanella) MFC at 10°C, but the electrogenic activity of anodic bacteria was substantially reduced at the lower temperature of 5°C. At 10°C, the maximum output voltage generated with the mixed-culture was 540–560 m V, which was 10%–15% higher than that of Shewanella MFCs. The maximum power density reached 465.3 ± 5.8 m W/m~2 for the mixed-culture at10°C, while only 68.7 ± 3.7 m W/m~2 was achieved with the pure-culture. It was shown that the anodic biofilm of the mixed-culture MFC had a lower overpotential and resistance than the pure-culture MFC. Phylogenetic analysis disclosed the prevalence of Geobacter and Pseudomonas rather than Shewanella in the mixed-culture anodic biofilm, which mitigated the increase of resistance or overpotential at low temperatures.     

Shifts in microbial community structure and diversity in a MBR combined with worm reactors treating synthetic wastewater

The chemical oxygen demand (COD) and NH₃-N removal, membrane fouling, sludge characteristics and microbial community structure in a membrane bioreactor (MBR) coupled with worm reactors (SSBWR) were evaluated for 210 days. The obtained results were compared to those from a conventional MBR (C-MBR) operated in parallel. The results indicated that the combined MBR (S-MBR) achieved higher COD and NH₃-N removal efficiency, slower increase in membrane fouling, better sludge settleability and higher activities of the related enzymes in the activated sludge. Denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis was used to analyze the microbial community structures in the C-MBR and the S-MBR. The microbial community structure in the S-MBR was more diverse than that in the C-MBR. Additionally, the slow-growing microbes such as Saprospiraceae, Actinomyces, Frankia, Clostridium, Comamonas, Pseudomonas, Dechloromonas and Flavobacterium were enriched in the S-MBR, further accounting for the sludge reduction, membrane fouling alleviation and wastewater treatment.     

Performance and microbial community of a membrane bioreactor system——Treating wastewater from ethanol fermentation of food waste

In this study, a lab-scale biological anaerobic/anaerobic/anoxic/membrane bioreactor(A_-~3MBR) was designed to treat wastewater from the ethanol fermentation of food waste,a promising way for the disposal of food waste and reclamation of resources. The 454 pyrosequencing technique was used to investigate the composition of the microbial community in the treatment system. The system yielded a stable effluent concentration of chemical oxygen demand(202 ± 23 mg/L), total nitrogen(62.1 ± 7.1 mg/L), ammonia(0.3 ±0.13 mg/L) and total phosphorus(8.3 ± 0.9 mg/L), and the reactors played different roles in specific pollutant removal. The exploration of the microbial community in the system revealed that:(1) the microbial diversity of anaerobic reactors A_1 and A_2, in which organic pollutants were massively degraded, was much higher than that in anoxic A_3 and aerobic MBR;(2) although the community composition in each reactor was quite different, bacteria assigned to the classes Clostridia, Bacteroidia, and Synergistia were important and common microorganisms for organic pollutant degradation in the anaerobic units, and bacteria from Alphaproteobacteria and Betaproteobacteria were the dominant microbial population in A_3 and MBR;(3) the taxon identification indicated that Arcobacter in the anaerobic reactors and Thauera in the anoxic reactor were two representative genera in the biological process. Our results proved that the biological A_-~3MBR process is an alternative technique for treating wastewater from food waste.     

Impact of microbial communities from tropical soils on the mobilization of trace metals during dissolution of cinnabar ore

Biodissolution experiments on cinnabar ore(mercury sulphide and other sulphide minerals,such as pyrite) were performed with microorganisms extracted directly from soil. These experiments were carried out in closed systems under aerobic and anaerobic conditions with 2 different soils sampled in French Guyana. The two main objectives of this study were(1) to quantify the ability of microorganisms to mobilize metals(Fe, Al, Hg) during the dissolution of cinnabar ore, and(2) to identify the links between the type and chemical properties of soils, environmental parameters such as season and the strategies developed by indigenous microorganisms extracted from tropical natural soils to mobilize metals.Results indicate that microbial communities extracted directly from various soils are able to(1) survive in the presence of cinnabar ore, as indicated by consumption of carbon sources and,(2) leach Hg from cinnabar in oxic and anoxic dissolution experiments via the acidification of the medium and the production of low molecular mass organic acids(LMMOAs). The dissolution rate of cinnabar in aerobic conditions with microbial communities ranged from 4.8 × 10~(-4) to 2.6 × 10~(-3) μmol/m~2/day and was independent of the metabolites released by the microorganisms. In addition, these results suggest an indirect action by the microorganisms in the cinnabar dissolution. Additionally, because iron is a key element in the dynamics of Hg, microbes were stimulated by the presence of this metal,and microbes released LMMOAs that leached iron from iron-bearing minerals, such as pyrite and oxy-hydroxide of iron, in the mixed cinnabar ore.