Biological Activated Sludge from Wastewater Treatment Plant before and during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Roman, Marius-Daniel; Sava, Cornel; Iluțiu-Varvara, Dana-Adriana; Mare, R.F. de la; Pruteanu, L; Picǎ, Elena Maria; Jäntschi, Lorentz

doi:10.3390/ijerph191811323

Cited by 6 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 37 publications

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“…Off-grid sewage systems for single-family homes (other than cesspools [12]) most often consist of a septic tank with a soakaway system for infiltrating wastewater into the ground (a drainfield), or containerized plants with a biological treatment unit that use the activated sludge process. Neither of these two types of systems guarantee the efficient removal of pollutants from wastewater [10,[13][14][15]. Therefore, dwellings that do not have, and are not expected to have, appropriate control measures in place for the continuous monitoring of treatment processes should be fitted with systems that have a simple structure, do not require constant operational supervision, and are robust to unsteady inflows of sewage.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impact of Climate Conditions on Pollutant Concentrations in the Effluent from a One-Stage Constructed Wetland: A Case Study

Operacz,

Jóźwiakowski,

Rodziewicz

et al. 2023

Sustainability

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This paper reports the results of an investigation into the influence of precipitation and air temperature on the efficiency of pollutant removal processes and effluent pollutant concentrations in a one-stage constructed wetland with subsurface vertical flow. We studied an on-site constructed wetland system that used Phragmites australis for the treatment of domestic wastewater. The system was located in central Europe, in the south-east of Poland, in a temperate climate zone with transitional features. Physico-chemical analyses of influent and effluent wastewater, as well as measurements of precipitation and air temperature were carried out in the years 2001–2010. It was shown that the pollutant removal efficiency of the treatment plant was significantly higher in the growing season than outside the growing season (the mean efficiency is usually a few percent higher but generally this parameter is highly varied). This indicated that temperature determined the efficiency of the wastewater treatment. We found that the amount of precipitation affected the concentration of pollutants in the effluent. The more rainfall there was, the lower the content of pollutants in the effluent from the treatment plant, which demonstrated that rainwater diluted the concentrations of pollutants in the treated wastewater—thus improving the efficiency of the wastewater treatment plant.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impact of Climate Conditions on Pollutant Concentrations in the Effluent from a One-Stage Constructed Wetland: A Case Study

Operacz,

Jóźwiakowski,

Rodziewicz

et al. 2023

Sustainability

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Wastewater treatment risks and challenges for public health and the environment during the Covid‐19 pandemic: a review

Kokkinos

Venieri

Mantzavinos

2023

J of Chemical Tech & Biotech

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During the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) pandemic, caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‐CoV‐2), viral transport, fate, disinfection and environmental release in wastewater treatment plants have been issues of high importance for overall management. Although a huge number of scientific publications related to coronaviruses have been published, the number of studies on different aspects of wastewater treatment strategies to deal with SARS‐CoV‐2 abatement is still relatively limited and results are often confusing. To define real wastewater risks for public health and the environment, we have performed a systematic review and identified 96 papers from the PubMed database. We focused on SARS‐CoV‐2 wastewater treatments and how the type and level of treatments affect the virological quality of the effluents, the role of disinfectants, the treatment of medical wastewater, the role of new technologies, as well as the wastewater treatment in low‐ and middle‐income countries. It was concluded that, in general, well‐designed and well‐functioning wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) and on‐site reliable sanitation systems may significantly limit the risk of SARS‐CoV‐2. The development of cost‐effective decentralized water and wastewater treatment facilities for low‐ and middle‐income countries for the abatement of coronaviruses should be enhanced. Lessons learned during the COVID‐19 pandemic with regard to wastewater treatment are expected to support an improved detection, response and containment of future viral disease outbreaks. © 2023 The Authors. Journal of Chemical Technology and Biotechnology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry (SCI).

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Assessing metal contamination and speciation in sewage sludge: implications for soil application and environmental risk

Feng,

Burke,

Chen

et al. 2023

Rev Environ Sci Biotechnol

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Based on the most recently published data, we definitively estimated that the annual global production of sewage sludge may rise from ~ 53 million tons dry solids currently to ~ 160 million tons if global wastewater were to be treated to a similar level as in the 27 European Union countries/UK. It is widely accepted that the agricultural application is a beneficial way to recycle the abundant organic matter and plant nutrients in sewage sludge. However, land application may need to be limited due to the presence of metals. This work presents a meticulous and systematic review of the sources, concentrations, partitioning, and speciation of metals in sewage sludge in order to determine the impacts of sludge application on metal behavior in soils. It identifies that industrial wastewater, domestic wastewater and urban runoff are main sources of metals in sludge. It shows conventional treatment processes generally result in the partitioning of over 70% of metals from wastewater into primary and secondary sludge. Typically, the order of metal concentrations in sewage sludge is Zn > Cu > Cr ≈ Pb ≈ Ni > Cd. The proportion of these metals that are easily mobilised is highest for Zn and Ni, followed by Cd and Cu, then Pb and Cr. Sludge application to land will lead to elevated metal concentrations, and potentially to short-term changes to the dominant metal species in soils. However, the speciation of sludge-associated metals will change over time due to interactions with plant roots and soil minerals and as organic matter is mineralised by rhizo-microbiome.

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Biological Activated Sludge from Wastewater Treatment Plant before and during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Cited by 6 publications

References 37 publications

Impact of Climate Conditions on Pollutant Concentrations in the Effluent from a One-Stage Constructed Wetland: A Case Study

Impact of Climate Conditions on Pollutant Concentrations in the Effluent from a One-Stage Constructed Wetland: A Case Study

Wastewater treatment risks and challenges for public health and the environment during the Covid‐19 pandemic: a review

Assessing metal contamination and speciation in sewage sludge: implications for soil application and environmental risk

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