Dairy by-products valorization with biomethane and biohydrogen production through lactose fermentation in AnMBR

Dairy liquid by-products after cheese production (e.g. whey for hard cheese, “scotta” for ricotta, brine for mozzarrella, lactose syrup after milk standardization by ultrafiltration) represent a potential revenue for food factories where large scale industrial production is implemented, as additional ingredients may be recovered, transformed and sold as separate products. Still, these by-products may also represent a problem for small/medium size factories or in areas that are far from ingredients transformation platforms: complete processing of smaller volumes or shipping liquids over long distances is not convenient. By-products are often disposed as waste, generating unproductive cost for the factory and worsening environmental footprint. In this paper a simple closed loop solution is evaluated for full valorization of those by-products, based on the technologies of: protein separation/concentration and anaerobic treatment of the lactose containing permeate

Complete autotrophic process for nitrogen removal from inkjet printing wastewater

Lab-scale results on the treatability of ammonium-rich wastewater from textile digital printing highlight the feasibility of an innovative biological process, based on purely autotrophic bacterial populations: ammonium oxidising bacteria (AOB) and anaerobic ammonium oxidisers (AAO). Activity of AOB has been measured through pH/DO-stat titration and that of AAO has been assessed through manometric tests, on raw mixed wastewater coming from textile-print factories (0.5 to 0-6 gN/L as ammonium nitrogen). AOB activity showed a reduction of 20-40% if compared with maximum activity on a synthetic medium. AAO activity tests showed a residual specific maximum anammox activity (SAA) of 0.1-0.4 gN2-N/gVSS/d, 40-60% of the control values obtained with synthetic wastewater. Activity tests confirmed treatability of the textile wastewater by AAO. Tests have been performed also on concentrated wastewater (2 to 3 gN/L as ammonium nitrogen) from the first rinsing bath. In this case, strong inhibition (between 80 and 100%) of anammox activity was observed. Careful operation of a continuous-flow completely mixed bioreactor can overcome this drawback, as pH and effluent ammonium concentration in the reactor are controlled

Editorial: Ecotechnologies for Wastewater Treatment - Impacting the environment with innovation in wastewater treatment

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Hydrogels formed by anammox extracellular polymeric substances: Structural and mechanical insights

The recovery of biopolymers from the waste sludge produced in wastewater treatments and their application in other industrial sectors, would substantially increase the environmental and economical sustainability of the process, promoting the development of a circular economy. In this study, extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) extracted from anammox granular waste sludge, were investigated and characterized. Rheological and differential scanning calorimetry measurements on EPS aqueous dispersions indicate the formation of an extended 3-D network above a threshold concentration, with a clear dependence of the mechanical and water retention properties on EPS content. The structural characterization, performed with transmission electron microscopy and small angle X-ray scattering, reveals the presence of functional amyloids as putative structural units, observed for the first time in an EPS-based hydrogel. As a proof of concept of the applicative potential, we explored the water and grease resistance provided to paper by an EPS coating. These results shed light on the structural details of EPS-based hydrogels, and pave the way for the possible use of EPS-based materials as a cheap, eco-friendly alternative to commonly adopted paper coatings, in line with a circular economy pattern for wastewater treatment

The rapid spread of SARS-COV-2 Omicron variant in Italy reflected early through wastewater surveillance

The SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant emerged in South Africa in November 2021, and has later been identified worldwide, raising serious concerns. A real-time RT-PCR assay was designed for the rapid screening of the Omicron variant, targeting characteristic mutations of the spike gene. The assay was used to test 737 sewage samples collected throughout Italy (19/21 Regions) between 11 November and 25 December 2021, with the aim of assessing the spread of the Omicron variant in the country. Positive samples were also tested with a real-time RT-PCR developed by the European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC), and through nested RT-PCR followed by Sanger sequencing. Overall, 115 samples tested positive for Omicron SARS-CoV-2 variant. The first occurrence was detected on 7 December, in Veneto, North Italy. Later on, the variant spread extremely fast in three weeks, with prevalence of positive wastewater samples rising from 1.0% (1/104 samples) in the week 5–11 December, to 17.5% (25/143 samples) in the week 12–18, to 65.9% (89/135 samples) in the week 19–25, in line with the increase in cases of infection with the Omicron variant observed during December in Italy. Similarly, the number of Regions/Autonomous Provinces in which the variant was detected increased fromone in the first week, to 11 in the second, and to 17 in the last one. The presence of the Omicron variant was confirmed by the JRC real-time RT-PCR in 79.1% (91/115) of the positive samples, and by Sanger sequencing in 66% (64/97) of PCR amplicons

The rapid spread of SARS-COV-2 Omicron variant in Italy reflected early through wastewater surveillance

The SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant emerged in South Africa in November 2021, and has later been identified worldwide, raising serious concerns. A real-time RT-PCR assay was designed for the rapid screening of the Omicron variant, targeting characteristic mutations of the spike gene. The assay was used to test 737 sewage samples collected throughout Italy (19/21 Regions) between 11 November and 25 December 2021, with the aim of assessing the spread of the Omicron variant in the country. Positive samples were also tested with a real-time RT-PCR developed by the European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC), and through nested RT-PCR followed by Sanger sequencing. Overall, 115 samples tested positive for Omicron SARS-CoV-2 variant. The first occurrence was detected on 7 December, in Veneto, North Italy. Later on, the variant spread extremely fast in three weeks, with prevalence of positive wastewater samples rising from 1.0% (1/104 samples) in the week 5-11 December, to 17.5% (25/143 samples) in the week 12-18, to 65.9% (89/135 samples) in the week 19-25, in line with the increase in cases of infection with the Omicron variant observed during December in Italy. Similarly, the number of Regions/Autonomous Provinces in which the variant was detected increased from one in the first week, to 11 in the second, and to 17 in the last one. The presence of the Omicron variant was confirmed by the JRC real-time RT-PCR in 79.1% (91/115) of the positive samples, and by Sanger sequencing in 66% (64/97) of PCR amplicons. In conclusion, we designed an RT-qPCR assay capable to detect the Omicron variant, which can be successfully used for the purpose of wastewater-based epidemiology. We also described the history of the introduction and diffusion of the Omicron variant in the Italian population and territory, confirming the effectiveness of sewage monitoring as a powerful surveillance tool