1.

Removal of organic micropollutants from municipal wastewater by

aerobic granular sludge and conventional activated sludge

- Cecilia Burzio a,* , Jennifer Ekholm a , Oskar Modin a , Per Falås b , Ola
Svahn c , Frank Persson a , Tim van Erp d , David J.I. Gustavsson e,f , Britt-
Marie Wil´en a
- Received 17 March 2022; Received in revised form 2 June 2022; Accepted 1
July 2022
- ABSTRACT
Removal performances of organic micropollutants by conventional activated
sludge (CAS) and aerobic granular sludge (AGS) were investigated at a full-
scale wastewater treatment plant. Lab-scale kinetic experiments were
performed to assess the micropollutant transformation rates under oxic and
anoxic conditions. Transformation rates were used to model the
micropollutant removal in the full-scale processes. Metagenomic sequencing
was used to compare the microbial communities and antimicrobial resistance
genes of the CAS and AGS systems. Higher transformation ability was
observed for CAS compared to AGS for most compounds, both at the full-
scale plant and in the complementary batch experiments. Oxic conditions
supported the transformation of several micropollutants with faster and/or
comparable rates compared to anoxic conditions. The estimated
transformation rates from batch experiments adequately predicted the
removal for most micropollutants in the fullscale processes. While the
compositions in microbial communities differed between AGS and CAS, the
full-scale biological reactors shared similar resistome profiles. Even though
granular biomass showed lower potential for micropollutant transformation,
AGS systems had somewhat higher gene cluster diversity compared to CAS,
which could be related to a higher functional diversity. Micropollutant
exposure to biomass or mass transfer limitations, therefore played more
important roles in the observed differences in OMP removal.
Link: file:///C:/Users/57310/Downloads/1-s2.0-S0304389422013218-main.pdf

2. Occurrence and partitioning behavior of E. coli and wastewater

micropollutants following rainfall events

- Mounia Hachad a,∗ , Hadis Yarahmadi a , Sung Vo Duy b , Sébastien Sauvé

b , Michèle Prévost a,c , Sarah Dorner a,d
- Received 28 February 2022; Received in revised form 1 June 2022; Accepted
2 June 2022
 - ABSTRACT
The fate of indicator bacteria and wastewater micropollutants (WWMPs)
discharged from water resource recovery facilities (WRRFs) and combined
sewer overflows (CSOs) needs to be understood for the protection of drinking
water sources. This study investigated the partitioning behavior in wet and dry
weather of Escherichia coli and 6 WWMPs including acetaminophen (ACET),
caffeine (CAF), theophylline (THEO), carbamazepine (CBZ), 2-
hydroxycarbamazepine (CBZ-2OH), and the artificial sweetener aspartame
(ASP) between the water, suspended particulate matter (SPM), and
sediments. ACET, CAF, THEO and CBZ were detected in all matrices. In
contrast, CBZ-2OH and ASP were strongly associated with suspended
particles, being exclusively detected in SPM and sediments. When comparing
dry to wet weather concentrations, three main patterns were observed
depending on the compounds and CSO locations: (i) compounds with low
removal efficiency by wastewater treatment (CBZ, CBZ-2OH and ASP) are
diluted with the addition of stormwater in the aqueous and SPM phases; (ii)
contaminants with high removal efficiency (E. coli, ACET, CAF, THEO) saw
an increase in their particle associated fraction (39 to 59% for E. coli, and
from 12%–43% to 42%–91% for WWMPs); and (iii) no significant difference
was observed for surficial sediment concentrations after rainfall events,
although spatial variability was observed. Results highlight the importance of
monitoring the SPM phase to overcome dilution effects in the dissolved
phase. Analyzing SPM with regards to micropollutants and indicator bacteria
may be more relevant for risk assessment and the assessment of the relative
contribution of CSO bypass flows and treated wastewater effluents loads.
Link: 1-s2.0-S2666916122000226-main.pdf

3. Occurrence and fate of micropollutants during sludge treatment:

Case of Al-Hoceima WWTP, Morocco

- Yahya El Hammoudani, Fouad Dimane

- Received 5 August 2021, Revised 7 October 2021, Accepted 10 October
2021
- ABSTRACT
Over the last twenty years or so, the contamination of wastewaters and
sludges by numerous organic or metallic micropollutants has been
highlighted. The objective of this document is to characterize the quality of the
different treated sludges in terms of micropollutants and to evaluate their
evolution during different sludge treatment processes. For this purpose, at the
Al-Hoceima (Morocco) wastewater treatment plant a number of
micropollutants (n = 46) were monitored during sludge treatment including
gravitational thickening, mechanical centrifugation, and chemical
stabilization. Based on the quality of the treated sludge, a total of 33
compounds were detected in the treated sludge (in mg/kg DM - dry matter).
In terms of treatment, thickening and stabilization does not have
a significant impact on sludge contamination for metals and organic
compounds, while some removal seems possible with centrifugation for
several compounds. Three behaviors can be identified: no removal, a slight
removal, and higher removal. Therefore, this allows a net elimination of
micropollutants that could possibly be improved significantly by increasing the
elimination through modifications of the operational parameters (retention
time, temperature, pre-treatment, etc.).

Link: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2667010021002997