document

Transfer dynamics of antibiotic resistance determinants across urban water systems: The free-floating genetic perspective

Calderon Franco, D. (author)

Antibiotic resistance is one of the biggest threats to global health, food security, and development today, leading to a growing number of difficult-to-treat infections and an economic burden. It can affect anyone of any age and in any country. It is mainly accelerated by the misuse and abuse of antibiotics, poor hygiene, and a lack of...

doctoral thesis 2023

document

Candidate biomarkers of antibiotic resistance for the monitoring of wastewater and the downstream environment

Teixeira, A. Margarida (author), Vaz-Moreira, Ivone (author), Calderon Franco, D. (author), Weissbrodt, D.G. (author), Purkrtova, Sabina (author), Gajdos, Stanislav (author), Dottorini, Giulia (author), Nielsen, Per H. (author), Khalifa, Leron (author), Cytryn, Eddie (author), Bartacek, Jan (author), Manaia, Célia M. (author)

Urban wastewater treatment plants (UWTPs) are essential for reducing the pollutants load and protecting water bodies. However, wastewater catchment areas and UWTPs emit continuously antibiotic resistant bacteria (ARB) and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs), with recognized impacts on the downstream environments. Recently, the European Commission...

journal article 2023

document

Techno-economic analysis of sidestream ammonia removal technologies: Biological options versus thermal stripping

Ochs, Pascal (author), Martin, Ben (author), Germain-Cripps, Eve (author), Stephenson, Tom (author), van Loosdrecht, Mark C.M. (author), Soares, Ana (author)

Over the past twenty years, various commercial technologies have been deployed to remove ammonia (NH₄–N) from anaerobic digestion (AD) liquors. In recent years many anaerobic digesters have been upgraded to include a pre-treatment, such as the thermal hydrolysis process (THP), to produce more biogas, increasing NH₄–N...

journal article 2023

document

Enhancing phosphorus removal of photogranules by incorporating polyphosphate accumulating organisms

Trebuch, Lukas M. (author), Sohier, Jasper (author), Altenburg, Sido (author), Oyserman, Ben O. (author), Pronk, M. (author), Janssen, Marcel (author), Vet, Louise E.M. (author), Wijffels, René H. (author), Fernandes, Tânia V. (author)

Photogranules are a novel wastewater treatment technology that can utilize the sun's energy to treat water with lower energy input and have great potential for nutrient recovery applications. They have been proven to efficiently remove nitrogen and carbon but show lower conversion rates for phosphorus compared to established treatment systems...

journal article 2023

document

Performance of a modified and intermittently operated slow sand filter with two different mediums in removing turbidity, ammonia, and phosphate with varying acclimatization periods

Fitriani, Nurina (author), Theresia, Ledy (author), O'Marga, Timothy Tjahja Nugraha (author), Kurniawan, Setyo Budi (author), Supriyanto, Agus (author), Abdullah, Siti Rozaimah Sheikh (author), Rietveld, L.C. (author)

The present study investigated the utilization of blood clam shells as a potential substitute for conventional media, as well as the influence of the acclimation time on the efficacy of an intermittent slow sand filter (ISSF) in the treatment of real domestic wastewater. ISSF was operated with 16 h on and 8 h off, focusing on the parameters...

journal article 2023

document

Integrated anaerobic and algal bioreactors: A promising conceptual alternative approach for conventional sewage treatment

Yang, Jixiang (author), van Lier, J.B. (author), Li, Jian (author), Guo, Jinsong (author), Fang, Fang (author)

Conventional sewage treatment applying activated sludge processes is energy-intensive and requires great financial input, hampering widespread implementation. The introduction of anaerobic membrane bioreactors (AnMBR) followed by an algal reactor growing species of commercial interest, may present an alternative, contributing to the envisaged...

review 2022

document

Removal of organic micropollutants from wastewater effluent: Selective adsorption by a fixed-bed granular zeolite filter followed by in-situ ozone-based regeneration

Fu, Mingyan (author), Heijman, Sebastiaan (author), van der Hoek, J.P. (author)

Organic micropollutants (OMPs) that occur in the aquatic environment are an emerging concern. Adsorption by granular zeolites and regenerating exhausted zeolites by gaseous ozone is an innovative and advanced treatment technology for removing OMPs from wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) effluent. In this study, WWTP effluent spiked with eleven...

journal article 2022

document

Extraction of low molecular weight polyhydroxyalkanoates from mixed microbial cultures using bio-based solvents

Elhami, Vahideh (author), van de Beek, Noor (author), Wang, Liangshin (author), Picken, S.J. (author), Tamis, J. (author), Sousa, João A.B. (author), Hempenius, Mark A. (author), Schuur, Boelo (author)

(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV) obtained from waste/wastewater using a mixed microbial culture (MMC) usually varies in its properties due to daily variation in the waste/wastewater composition applied as feedstock. In the current study, the average molecular weight (MW) of PHBV was purposely reduced from about 1 MDa to about...

journal article 2022

document

Use of reclaimed water for unreinforced concrete block production for the self-construction of houses

Gulamussen, N.J. (author), Marques Arsenio, A. (author), Matsinhe, N. P. (author), Manjate, R. S. (author), Rietveld, L.C. (author)

Experiments were conducted to evaluate the possibilities of using treated wastewater for the production of unreinforced concrete blocks. Compressive strength, water absorption and morphology tests of concrete blocks, produced from different makeups of mixing water, drinking water, drinking water spiked with ammonium and phosphate, and the...

journal article 2021

document

Upgrading residues from wastewater and drinking water treatment plants as low-cost adsorbents to remove extracellular DNA and microorganisms carrying antibiotic resistance genes from treated effluents

Calderon Franco, D. (author), Apoorva, Seeram (author), Medema, G.J. (author), van Loosdrecht, Mark C.M. (author), Weissbrodt, D.G. (author)

Wastewater treatment is challenged by the continuous emergence of chemical and biological contaminants. Disinfection, advanced oxidation, and activated carbon technologies are accessible in high-income countries to suppress them. Low-cost, easily implementable, and scalable solutions are needed for sanitation across regions. We studied the...

journal article 2021

document

Power struggles in policy feedback processes: incremental steps towards a circular economy within Dutch wastewater policy

Ampe, K.V.J. (author), Paredis, Erik (author), Asveld, L. (author), Osseweijer, P. (author), Block, Thomas (author)

Environmental problems are usually not tackled with path-departing policies but rather with incrementally adjusted or unchanged policies. One way to address incremental change is the policy feedback approach, which initially focussed on self-reinforcing feedback and path-dependency. Today, self-undermining feedback is also increasingly being...

journal article 2021

document

Screening for methane utilizing mixed communities with high polyhydroxybutyrate (Phb) production capacity using different design approaches

Salem, Rana (author), Soliman, Moomen (author), Fergala, A.M.A.A. (author), Audette, Gerald F. (author), Eldyasti, Ahmed (author)

With the adverse environmental ramifications of the use of petroleum-based plastic out-weighing the challenges facing the industrialization of bioplastics, polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) biopolymer has gained broad interest in recent years. Thus, an efficient approach for maximizing polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) polymer production in methanotrophic...

journal article 2021

document

Incumbents' enabling role in niche-innovation: Power dynamics in a wastewater project

Ampe, K.V.J. (author), Paredis, Erik (author), Asveld, L. (author), Osseweijer, P. (author), Block, Thomas (author)

More pluralised understandings of incumbencies are often overlooked in transitions research, which may lead to underestimating the enabling roles of incumbents in niche projects. This study explores these roles by applying a power framework to five struggles revolving around a path-breaking decentralised wastewater treatment project in the...

journal article 2021

document

Life cycle assessment of nutrient recycling from wastewater: A critical review

Lam, K.L. (author), Zlatanovic, L. (author), van der Hoek, J.P. (author)

Recovering resources from wastewater systems is increasingly being emphasised. Many technologies exist or are under development for recycling nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus from wastewater to agriculture. Planning and design methodologies are needed to identify and deploy the most sustainable solutions in given contexts. For the...

review 2020

document

Free-floating extracellular DNA: systematic profiling of mobile genetic elements and antibiotic resistance from wastewater

Calderon Franco, D. (author), van Loosdrecht, Mark C.M. (author), Abeel, T.E.P.M.F. (author), Weissbrodt, D.G. (author)

The free-floating extracellular DNA (exDNA) fraction of microbial ecosystems harbors antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) and mobile genetic elements (MGEs). Natural transformation of these xenogenetic elements can generate microbial cells resistant to one or more antibiotics. Isolating and obtaining high yield exDNA is challenging due to its low...

journal article 2020

document

Perspectives of coagulation/flocculation for the removal of pharmaceuticals from domestic wastewater: A critical view at experimental procedures

Kooijman, G. (author), de Kreuk, M.K. (author), Houtman, C. (author), van Lier, J.B. (author)

Literature frequently reports that colloids in aqueous matrices sorb a large fraction of pharmaceuticals. Since coagulation/flocculation removes colloids, it is expected that coagulation/flocculation in principle should be useful in concentrating pharmaceuticals in wastewater treatment, which would facilitate the treatment of these refractory...

journal article 2020

document

Characterizing the structure of aerobic granular sludge using ultra-high field magnetic resonance

Kirkland, Catherine M. (author), Seymour, Joseph D. (author), Krug, Julia R. (author), Velders, Aldrik H. (author), Vergeldt, Frank J. (author), Van As, Henk (author), van den Berg, L. (author), de Kreuk, M.K. (author), Codd, Sarah L. (author)

Despite aerobic granular sludge wastewater treatment plants operating around the world, our understanding of internal granule structure and its relation to treatment efficiency remains limited. This can be attributed in part to the drawbacks of time-consuming, labor-intensive, and invasive microscopy protocols which effectively restrict...

journal article 2020

document

A settling model for full-scale aerobic granular sludge

van Dijk, E.J.H. (author), Pronk, M. (author), van Loosdrecht, Mark C.M. (author)

The settling behavior of aerobic granular sludge (AGS) in full-scale reactors is different from the settling of normal activated sludge. Current activated sludge models lack the features to describe the segregation of granules based on size during the settling process. This segregation plays an important role in the granulation process and...

journal article 2020

document

A transition in the Dutch wastewater system? The struggle between discourses and with lock-ins

Ampe, K.V.J. (author), Paredis, Erik (author), Asveld, L. (author), Osseweijer, P. (author), Block, Thomas (author)

Recently, calls have increased for a paradigm shift or transition towards resource recovery and a circular economy in the Dutch wastewater system. However, we have observed diverging interpretations on the nature of the transition. This reflects the political environment of sustainability transitions: political struggle emerges over the...

journal article 2019

document

Electro-separation of microalgal culture from wastewater

Rafiee, Poorya (author), Tong, Yen Wah (author), Hosseini, Maryam (author), Ebrahimi, S. (author)

For further applications of microalgae such as bio-products, microalgal harvesting from its culture medium (e.g. wastewater) must be studied. This becomes more essential when investigating whether or not cells can stay viable to be recycled into the system. Microalgae culture, wastewater, and a mixture of both were separately...

journal article 2019