Assessing the Mass Concentration of Microplastics and Nanoplastics in Wastewater Treatment Plants by Pyrolysis Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry

The level of microplastics (MPs) in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) has been well evaluated by the particle number, while the mass concentration of MPs and especially nanoplastics (NPs) remains unclear. In this study, pyrolysis gas chromatography-mass spectrometry was used to determine the mass concentrations of MPs and NPs with different...

Ionic strength of the liquid phase of different sludge streams in a wastewater treatment plant

In a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP), several sludge streams exist and the composition of their liquid phase varies with time and place. For evaluating the potential for formation of precipitates and equilibria for weak acids/bases, the ionic strength and chemical composition need to be known. This information is often not available in...

Efficient formation of vivianite without anaerobic digester: Study in excess activated sludge

It was recently discovered that vivianite (Fe₃(PO₄)₂.8H₂O) could be magnetically extracted from digested activated sludge which opened a new route for phosphorus recovery (Wijdeveld et al. 2022). While its formation in digested sludge is regularly reported, it is not yet studied for fresh,...

Vivianite scaling in wastewater treatment plants: Occurrence, formation mechanisms and mitigation solutions

The presence of soluble iron and phosphorus in wastewater sludge can lead to vivianite scaling. This problem is not often reported in literature, most likely due to the difficult identification and quantification of this mineral. It is usually present as a hard and blue deposit that can also be brown or black depending on its composition and...

Removal of Organic Micro-pollutants Present in the Effluent of Wastewater Treatment Plant by Zeolite Granules

Zeolites can be used for the adsorption of organic micropollutants (OMPs) from water. In this research, the potential applications of zeolite granules for OMP removal in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) were discovered. The adsorption of 18 target OMPs by zeolite granules was fully studied in batch and column experiments. The adsorption...

Annual dynamics of antimicrobials and resistance determinants in flocculent and aerobic granular sludge treatment systems

The occurrence and removal patterns of 24 antimicrobial agents and antimicrobial resistant determinants namely 6 antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) and 2 mobile genetic elements (MGEs), and the fecal indicator E. coli were investigated in three full-scale wastewater treatment plants. Their waterlines and biosolids lines (including secondary...

Life cycle assessment of the mesophilic, thermophilic, and temperature-phased anaerobic digestion of sewage sludge

In this study the environmental impact of the anaerobic digestion (AD) of sewage sludge within an activated sludge wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) was investigated. Three alternative AD systems (mesophilic, thermophilic, and temperature-phased anaerobic digestion (TPAD)) were compared to determine which system may have the best...

Full-scale increased iron dosage to stimulate the formation of vivianite and its recovery from digested sewage sludge

The recovery of phosphorus from secondary sources like sewage sludge is essential in a world suffering from resources depletion. Recent studies have demonstrated that phosphorus can be magnetically recovered as vivianite (Fe(II)₃(PO₄)₂∗8H₂O) from the digested sludge (DS) of Waste Water Treatment...

Determinants of presence and removal of antibiotic resistance genes during WWTP treatment: A cross-sectional study

Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs), linking human fecal residues and the environment, are considered as hotspots for the spread of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). In order to evaluate the role of WWTPs and underlying operational parameters for the removal of AMR, the presence and removal efficiency of a selected set of 6 antimicrobial...

Developing Anammox for mainstream municipal wastewater treatment

Conventional wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs), like activated sludge systems, are energy demanding requiring a large electrical energy supply (e.g. 25 kWh PE-1 year-1) which, especially during peak-load periods, may account for an important quote of the grid installed power of the surrounding area. Only across the EU, there are 16000 WWTPs...

Modelling the AB-process to implement cold CANON

A model describing simultaneous growth and adsorption of COD in the A-stage, using a limited set of variables, has been developed. The agreement between the real data and the simulations is remarkably good for both steady-state conditions and dynamic simulations mimicking the seasonality of one whole year of operation of the A-stage in Dokhaven....

The applicability of the SUR measurement for ultrafiltration of WWTP effluent

Fouling modification during pretreatment for dead-end ultrafiltration of wwtp effluent: Fractionation in relation to filterability and foulants

A proved technique to upgrade (wastewater treatment plant) wwtp effluent to improved water quality is dead-end ultrafiltration (UF). Although the use of UF for upgrading wwtp effluent results in an excellent basic water quality, this technique faces problems due to membrane fouling. Especially particles in the size range between 0.1 and 0.45 @m ...

Filtration characteristics in dead-end ultrafiltration of wwtp-effluent

With a growing need for water for many purposes on one side and an increasing degree of wastewater treatment producing water with an improved quality on the other side, the necessity of water reuse will grow, especially in highly industrialised countries with restricted natural water sources. Improvement of advanced treatment schemes for...