Technology and quality management: a review of concepts and opportunities in the digital transformation

Purpose - The Digital Transformation brings change to organizations, their processes, and their production systems. Nevertheless, most efforts observed in its context tend to be technology-driven, and it is often argued that Quality Management is inadequately integrated into the discussion. Design/methodology/approach - Surveying the literature, this work reviews, list, and organizes the different technological concepts and integration opportunities that have been explored in the scope of Quality Management in the Digital Transformation. Findings - Findings include the expanded capacity of quality tools and methods for managerial purposes; the reinforced importance of Data Quality; the increased automation and augment resources for Quality control; and the increased process optimization and integration of systems and between organizational areas. Originality/value - It is demonstrated that although scattered in the literature, there are already a number of works exploring the impacts of technology in the management of Quality in the scope of the Digital Transformation. Three main areas for integration arise: (a) Digital Quality Management (application of industry 4.0 technologies to Quality Management itself, its tools, methods, and systems), (b) the management of the Quality of digital products and services, and (c) the management of the Quality of digital product development and production processes.(undefined

Polyphosphates and poly-β-hydroxybutyrate granules identification through quantitative image analysis in enhanced biological phosphorus removal systems

Enhanced biological phosphorus removal (EBPR) is a widely implemented technique for having the potential to cheaply and reliably remove phosphate from wastewater treatment processes, than traditional chemical methods. EBPR is performed by operating the system sequentially with anaerobic and aerobic conditions. Several studies were already performed ranging from different strategies for the competition between polyphosphate accumulating organisms (PAOs) and glycogen accumulating organisms (GAOs) to modeling both types of bacterial activities. Until now, slight attention has been given to the development of newer, faster, simpler, and better suited monitoring techniques for this type of system. This work is focused on the development of image analysis techniques for polyphosphates and poly-β-hydroxybutyrate granules in EBPR systems since off-line analyses are labor intensive and not able to be performed in full-scale plants. A lab-scale sequencing batch reactor fed with synthetic wastewater containing volatile fatty acids (VFAs) and orthophosphate was used. The reactor had a working volume of 4 L and was operated with a cycle time of 6 h consisting of 2 h anaerobic, 3 h aerobic, 50 min settling and decanting, and 5 min anaerobic idle periods. In each cycle, 2 L of synthetic wastewater was fed to the reactor in the first 5 min of the anaerobic period, resulting in a hydraulic retention time (HRT) of 12 h. The pH was controlled during both the anaerobic and aerobic periods around 7, and the temperature was controlled at 30 ºC in order to provide selective advantages to GAOs over PAOs. The ratio between chemical oxygen demand (COD) and P in the feed was kept at 10 (gCOD/g P). Biomass samples were collected at the end of the anaerobic and aerobic phases and fixed with phosphate buffer saline solution (PBS) and ethanol. Two fluorescence staining methods were used: (1) DAPI for poly-P identification; and (2) nile blue for poly-β-hydroxybutyrate granules. So far, promising results were achieved regarding the type of images achieved by these fluorescence staining methods and the image analysis procedures still under development

Intracellular poly-P assessment by DAPI staining and image analysis

In wastewater treatment, enhanced biological phosphorus removal (EBPR) is considered a well-established process to remove phosphate (P). EBPR is based on the activity of polyphosphate-accumulating organisms (PAOs) able to take up and store large amounts of P as intracellular (poly-P) granules. However, monitoring poly-P in mixed cultures is usually performed by a laborious and time consuming off-line chemical analysis. Thus, there is a clear need to develop new techniques to rapidly monitor these processes, such as image analysis coupled to sample staining and microscopy inspection. A lab-scale sequencing batch reactor (SBR) was fed with synthetic wastewater containing acetate and propionate as main carbon sources and an orthophosphate solution was added. A COD/P ratio of 10 mg COD mg P-PO4-1 was used to provide selective advantages to PAOs. The SBR was operated with a cycle time of 6 h: 120 min anaerobic including 5 min feed, 180 min aerobic and 60 min wasting/settling. Biomass samples were collected at the end of the aerobic stage. Bulk P concentration was determined by segmented flow analysis and total P concentration was similarly measured following acid digestion at 100oC. Intracellular poly-P concentration was determined by subtracting the bulk P from the total P. Intracellular poly-P granules were observed in epifluorescence microscopy using DAPI staining with a 25 ìg mL-1 DAPI solution. A long pass filter was used with an excitation bandpass of 365-370 nm and emission cut off at 421 nm. A specially developed program in Matlab was used for image analysis. A total of 41 samples were collected. Two thirds were fed as training data to the partial least squares (PLS) model and the remaining used for validation. Both absolute (in mg poly-P / L) and relative (in mg poly-P / g MLSS) intracellular poly-P concentrations were studied. This procedure was found to predict, at some extent, the relative intracellular poly-P concentration (real poly-P = 0.971 x predicted poly-P, R2 of 0.744). Regarding the absolute intracellular poly-P concentration, a total of 3 samples needed to be discarded in order to obtain a similar result (real poly-P = 1.005 x predicted poly-P, R2 of 0.731)

Prediction of intracellular storage polymers using quantitative image analysis in enhanced biological phosphorus removal systems

Intracellular polymers, such as polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) synthesized by microorganisms for energy and carbon storage, can be commercially used as biodegradable plastics in a wide range of applications. The possibility of obtaining high PHA contents (where the most common monomers found are poly-hydroxybutyrate (PHB) and poly-hydroxyvalerate (PHV)) from inexpensive inocula and raw materials emerges as a promising and commercially interesting alternative. For this purpose, mixed cultures operated under feast/famine cycles are most frequently used. PHA is an important storage polymer in the metabolism of microorganisms involved in enhanced biological phosphorus removal (EBPR) systems. It is stored by polyphosphate accumulating organisms (PAO) and glycogen accumulating organisms (GAO), as described in previous publications [1,2]. Monitoring intracellular storage polymers in bacteria is usually performed through laborious and time consuming off-line chemical analyses. Thus, there is clearly a need to develop new techniques in order to promptly monitor these processes. Image analysis techniques have the potential to be a non-invasive and rapid means of assessing the amount of different storage polymers inside microbial cells, providing the evaluation of these important biotechnological processes. The present study focuses on predicting intracellular storage polymers in EBPR systems. For that purpose, quantitative image analysis techniques were developed and partial least squares (PLS) were used to model PHA results. An EBPR fed with synthetic wastewater containing volatile fatty acids (VFAs) and orthophosphate was used. Biomass samples were collected at the end of the anaerobic and aerobic phases. Analytical PHA quantification was performed by biomass digestion and gas chromatography analysis. In the concurring image analysis methodology Nile blue was used as a fluorescence staining method for PHA granules identification. The results from image analysis allowed establishing a PHB prediction ability presenting a regression value (R2) of 0.854, a PHA prediction regression value (R2) of 0.843 and a PHV prediction regression value (R2) of 0.779. The lower prediction ability for PHV could be explained since this parameter presented only a small contribution to the overall PHA. The analysis performed based on the variable importance in the projection (VIP) established a core of three image analysis parameters (granules total area, granules total intensity and image intensity) as the most important regarding PHA, PHB and PHV prediction

Development of a Novel Process Integrating the Treatment of Sludge Reject Water and the Production of Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs)

The Supporting Information is available free of charge on the ACS Publications website at DOI: https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.5b01776This study was carried out within the framework of the European projects LIVE WASTE (LIFE 12 ENV/CY/000544)

Desenvolvimento de metodologias de análise de imagem para quantificar PHA, polifosfatos e glicogénio intracelular em estações de tratamento de águas residuais

O processo de remoção biológica de fósforo, em estações de tratamento de águas residuais, é um processo efetuado por culturas mistas contendo organismos acumuladores de polifosfatos (PAO) e de glicogénio (GAO). No decurso deste processo os microrganismos podem formar inclusões de glicogénio, polihidroxialcanoatos (PHA) e polifosfatos (poli-P). Neste processo, é fulcral monitorizar o metabolismo intracelular para determinar a sua eficiência. Contudo, a sua monitorização, realizada através de análise químicas em diferido, é laboriosa e morosa. Deste modo, existe uma clara necessidade do desenvolvimento de métodos mais expeditos, como metodologias de análise de imagens, para a monitorização destes polímeros intracelulares. Estas técnicas foram implementadas neste estudo, encontrando-se, no caso da determinação da concentração intracelular de poli-P, em fase de desenvolvimento dos protocolos de coloração e aquisição de imagens. Para a determinação da concentração intracelular de glicogénio, foi obtida uma boa correlação inicial. Na determinação da concentração intracelular de PHA, este estudo foca-se na otimização dos protocolos de coloração e no desenvolvimento do programa de análise de imagem

Development of image analysis methodologies to quantify intracellular PHA, polyphosphate and glycogen within wastewater treatment plants

In wastewater treatment plants (WWTP), enhanced biological phosphorus removal (EBPR) processes are performed by mixed cultures containing polyphosphate (PAO) and glycogen accumulating organisms (GAO). In these processes, it is of crucial importance to monitor the intracellular metabolism, namely glycogen, polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) and polyphosphate (polyP) inclusions, to determine its efficiency. However, traditional monitoring, carried out through off-line chemical analyses, is laborious and time-consuming. Therefore, there is a clear need to develop new techniques to promptly quantify these intracellular polymers, with image analysis emerging as a promising tool. The use of staining methodologies with specific fluorescent dyes is widespread in EBPR research, including Nile blue for PHA and DAPI for polyP. Although rarely applied in EBPR studies, Aniline blue is a fluorescent stain that can be used for glycogen determination. Furthermore, these fluorescent stains have generally been employed for qualitative rather than quantitative analysis. Therefore, this study aim focused on developing fluorescence-based staining methodologies for glycogen, and on acquisition, processing and image analysis procedures for PHA, polyP and glycogen. Image analysis data was then correlated with traditional analytical data by multivariable statistics. Regarding the determination of the glycogen intracellular concentration, results have been promising, presenting a good correlation (R2 of 0.915) between analytical and image analysis data. The staining and image analysis procedures for the determination of the intracellular concentration of PHA and polyP are currently being optimized. This study will provide a quantitative means to assess PAO and GAO metabolic activity in-situ in WWTP, facilitating the optimisation of these processes

Evidence of the Generation of Isosaccharinic Acids and Their Subsequent Degradation by Local Microbial Consortia within Hyper-Alkaline Contaminated Soils, with Relevance to Intermediate Level Radioactive Waste Disposal

The contamination of surface environments with hydroxide rich wastes leads to the formation of high pH (>11.0) soil profiles. One such site is a legacy lime works at Harpur Hill, Derbyshire where soil profile indicated in-situ pH values up to pH 12. Soil and porewater profiles around the site indicated clear evidence of the presence of the α and β stereoisomers of isosaccharinic acid (ISA) resulting from the anoxic, alkaline degradation of cellulosic material. ISAs are of particular interest with regards to the disposal of cellulosic materials contained within the intermediate level waste (ILW) inventory of the United Kingdom, where they may influence radionuclide mobility via complexation events occurring within a geological disposal facility (GDF) concept. The mixing of uncontaminated soils with the alkaline leachate of the site resulted in ISA generation, where the rate of generation in-situ is likely to be dependent upon the prevailing temperature of the soil. Microbial consortia present in the uncontaminated soil were capable of surviving conditions imposed by the alkaline leachate and demonstrated the ability to utilise ISAs as a carbon source. Leachate-contaminated soil was sub-cultured in a cellulose degradation product driven microcosm operating at pH 11, the consortia present were capable of the degradation of ISAs and the generation of methane from the resultant H2/CO2 produced from fermentation processes. Following microbial community analysis, fermentation processes appear to be predominated by Clostridia from the genus Alkaliphilus sp, with methanogenesis being attributed to Methanobacterium and Methanomassiliicoccus sp. The study is the first to identify the generation of ISA within an anthropogenic environment and advocates the notion that microbial activity within an ILW-GDF is likely to influence the impact of ISAs upon radionuclide migration

Novel method to quantify intracellular accumulation of polyphosphate in EBPR systems

A new method for intracellular storage polyphosphate (poly-P)identification and quantification in enhanced biological phosphorus removal (EBPR) systems is proposed based on image analysis. In EBPR systems, 4',6-diamidino-2-phenylindole (DAPI) is usually combined with fluororescent in situ hybridization (FISH) to evaluate the microbial community. The proposed technique is based on an image analysis procedure specifically developed for determining poly-P inclusions within biomass suspension using solely DAPI by epifluorescence microscopy. Due to contradictory literature DAPI concentrations used for poly-P detection, the present work assessed the optimal DAPI concentration for samples acquired at the end of the EBPR aerobic stage when the accumulation is performed. Digital images were then acquired and processed by means of image processing and analysis. Regarding image analysis results and considering the current operational conditions, a promising correlation could be found between average poly-P intensity values and the analytical determination, although presenting a correlation coefficient somewhat far from the ideal. The proposed methodology can be seen as a promising alternative procedure to quantify intracellular poly-P accumulation in a faster and less labor intensive way