Release of phosphorus through pretreatment of waste activated sludge differs essentially from that of carbon and nitrogen resources: Comparative analysis across four wastewater treatment facilities

The accumulation of phosphorus in activated sludge in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) provides potential for phosphorus recovery from sewage. This study delves into the potential for releasing phosphorus from waste activated sludge through two distinct treatment methods—thermal hydrolysis and pH adjustment. The investigation was conducted...

Identification and degradation of structural extracellular polymeric substances in waste activated sludge via a polygalacturonate-degrading consortium

By maintaining the cell integrity of waste activated sludge (WAS), structural extracellular polymeric substances (St-EPS) resist WAS anaerobic fermentation. This study investigates the occurrence of polygalacturonate in WAS St-EPS by combining chemical and metagenomic analyses that identify ∼22% of the bacteria, including Ferruginibacter and...

Highly efficient carbon assimilation and nitrogen/phosphorus removal facilitated by photosynthetic O₂ from algal-bacterial aerobic granular sludge under controlled DO/pH operation

Reducing CO₂ emission and energy consumption is crucial for the sustainable management of wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). In this study, an algal-bacterial aerobic granular sludge (AGS) system was developed for efficient carbon (C) assimilation and nitrogen (N)/phosphorus (P) removal without the need for mechanical aeration....

Wastewater-based epidemiology predicts COVID-19-induced weekly new hospital admissions in over 150 USA counties

Although the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) emergency status is easing, the COVID-19 pandemic continues to affect healthcare systems globally. It is crucial to have a reliable and population-wide prediction tool for estimating COVID-19-induced hospital admissions. We evaluated the feasibility of using wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) to...

Synergy of phosphate recovery from sludge-incinerated ash and coagulant production by desalinated brine

Wet-chemical approach is widely applied for phosphate recovery from incinerated ash of waste activated sludge (WAS), along with metals removed/recovered. The high contents of both aluminum (Al) and iron (Fe) in WAS-incinerated ash should be suitable for producing coagulants with some waste anions like Cl⁻ and SO₄<sup>2−<...

Creating coagulants through the combined use of ash and brine

Sludge incineration and seawater desalination are two approaches that can be used in the disposal of waste activated sludge (WAS) and for obtaining fresh water. As resource recovery from wastewater treatment and water purification is a topic of particular interest in these times, “water mining” has become a focus of research, with phosphate/P...

Stratification of nitrifier guilds in granular sludge in relation to nitritation

A lab-scale partial nitritation granular sludge air-lift reactor was operated in continuous mode treating low strength synthetic medium (influent ca. 50 mg-N-NH₄ ⁺/L). Granules were initially stratified with AOB in the external shell and NOB in the inner core at 20 °C. Once temperature was decreased progressively from 20...

Effect of salt on the metabolism of 'Candidatus Accumulibacter' clade I and II

Saline wastewater is known to affect the performance of phosphate-accumulating organisms (PAOs) in enhanced biological phosphorus removal (EBPR) process. However, studies comparing the effect of salinity on different PAO clades are lacking. In this study, 'Candidatus Accumulibacter phosphatis' Clade I and II (hereafter referred to as PAOI and...