Efficacy of vermitechnology integration with Upflow Anaerobic Sludge Blanket (UASB) and activated sludge for metal stabilization: a compliance study on fractionation and biosorption

Efficacy of vermi-transformation for metal partitioning and transformation from Upflow Anaerobic Sludge Blanket (UASB) and Activated Sludge (AS) was investigated. Sludge samples were mixed with cow dung (CD) in two combinations (1:1 (UASB/AS:CD)) & (2:1(UASB/AS: CD)). Fractionation study revealed that Zn, Cd & Pb were associated with reducible fractions, and Cr, Cu with oxidizable fractions. Higher removal efficiency for 1:1 (UASB/AS: CD) combination over 2:1 (UASB/AS: CD) implies the non-significant contribution of cow dung during the metal stabilization process. After vermi-remediation, maximum metal removal was achieved at 1:1 ratio than 2:1 in AS. In UASB, 1:1 ratio worked better for Cr, Zn & Cd, whereas for Cu & Zn 2:1 ratio resulted in efficient removal. Overall for both AS and UASB, efficiency was found to be higher in 1:1 treatment ratio. The value of Kd (Bio sorption) was highest in Cu followed by Cr, which indicates the closer association with the metal bound organic matter (R2 ≥ 0.99). Based on the compliance study between two estimated sorption coefficients Kd (Biosorption & Fractions), vermi-remediation was found to be effective for AS than UASB. Therefore, the obtained results clearly validate the feasibility of integration of vermi-remediation as a potential promising ecological techniques for removing metal contaminant from the wastewater. Further research is required to study the decontamination of emerging contaminants with such integrated technology, which have physico-chemical properties different than metal ions.by Kaling Taki, Anindita Gogoi, Payal Mazumder, Satya Sunder Bhattacharya and Manish Kuma

Removal of p-cresol and tylosin from water using a novel composite of alginate, recycled MnO2 and activated carbon

For sustainable production, there is an urgent need to minimize the adverse environmental impacts of swine farming, which is a major contributor of the pollutants p-cresol and tylosin. Novel reactive composite alginate beads (CAB-MOACs) were fabricated by combining alginate with activated carbon (AC) and MnO2 recovered from spent battery waste and used for efficient removal of p-cresol and tylosin from water. Batch experiments were carried out under varying pH (3–11), temperature (15–50 °C), and agitation speed (50–200 rpm) to understand their effects on removal efficiency. The CAB-MOACs had better removal efficiency for p-cresol and tylosin than alginate beads alone or beads containing only AC or MnO2. Adsorption to CAB-MOACs followed pseudo-second-order kinetics (R2≥0.98) and Langmuir isotherm models (R2≥0.95). CAB-MOACs showed higher removal efficiency (∼99.9% after 10 h) compared to beads containing only immobilized MnO2 (60–70%) or AC (94–96%). Regeneration and reuse performance of the CAB-MOACs was excellent through five cycles, although slightly better for p-cresol than tylosin. With low-cost manufacturing and beneficial utilization of hazardous waste such as spent batteries, the newly developed composite beads show potential as an effective adsorbent for treating wastewater effluent containing emerging contaminants like p-cresol and tylosin. Future studies may focus on product refinement and large-scale testing on actual wastewaters.by Jaehong Shim, Manish Kumar, Ritusmita Goswami,Payal Mazumder, Byung-Taek Oh and Patrick J. She

Prevalence of pharmaceuticals and personal care products, microplastics and co-infecting microbes in the post-COVID-19 era and its implications on antimicrobial resistance and potential endocrine disruptive effects

The COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) pandemic's steady condition coupled with predominance of emerging contaminants in the environment and its synergistic implications in recent times has stoked interest in combating medical emergencies in this dynamic environment. In this context, high concentrations of pharmaceutical and personal care products (PPCPs), microplastics (MPs), antimicrobial resistance (AMR), and soaring coinfecting microbes, tied with potential endocrine disruptive (ED) are critical environmental concerns that requires a detailed documentation and analysis. During the pandemic, the identification, enumeration, and assessment of potential hazards of PPCPs and MPs and (used as anti-COVID-19 agents/applications) in aquatic habitats have been attempted globally. Albeit receding threats in the magnitude of COVID-19 infections, both these pollutants have still posed serious consequences to aquatic ecosystems and the very health and hygiene of the population in the vicinity. The surge in the contaminants post-COVID also renders them to be potent vectors to harbor and amplify AMR. Pertinently, the present work attempts to critically review such instances to understand the underlying mechanism, interactions swaying the current health of our environment during this post-COVID-19 era. During this juncture, although prevention of diseases, patient care, and self-hygiene have taken precedence, nevertheless antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) efforts have been overlooked. Unnecessary usage of PPCPs and plastics during the pandemic has resulted in increased emerging contaminants (i.e., active pharmaceutical ingredients and MPs) in various environmental matrices. It was also noticed that among COVID-19 patients, while the bacterial co-infection prevalence was 0.2-51%, the fungi, viral, protozoan and helminth were 0.3-49, 1-22, 2-15, 0.4-15% respectively, rendering them resistant to residual PPCPs. There are inevitable chances of ED effects from PPCPs and MPs applied previously, that could pose far-reaching health concerns. Furthermore, clinical and other experimental evidence for many newer compounds is very scarce and demands further research. Pro-active measures targeting effective waste management, evolved environmental policies aiding strict regulatory measures, and scientific research would be crucial in minimizing the impact and creating better preparedness towards such events among the masses fostering sustainability.This work is funded by SERB (Govt. of India), New Delhi (CVD/2022/000033) & SEED Grant from UPES.Peer reviewe

Tracing COVID-19 Trails in Wastewater : A Systematic Review of SARS-CoV-2 Surveillance with Viral Variants

The emergence of new variants of SARS-CoV-2 associated with varying infectivity, pathogenicity, diagnosis, and effectiveness against treatments challenged the overall management of the COVID-19 pandemic. Wastewater surveillance (WWS), i.e., monitoring COVID-19 infections in communities through detecting viruses in wastewater, was applied to track the emergence and spread of SARS-CoV-2 variants globally. However, there is a lack of comprehensive understanding of the use and effectiveness of WWS for new SARS-CoV-2 variants. Here we systematically reviewed published articles reporting monitoring of different SARS-CoV-2 variants in wastewater by following the PRISMA guidelines and provided the current state of the art of this study area. A total of 80 WWS studies were found that reported different monitoring variants of SARS-CoV-2 until November 2022. Most of these studies (66 out of the total 80, 82.5%) were conducted in Europe and North America, i.e., resource-rich countries. There was a high variation in WWS sampling strategy around the world, with composite sampling (50/66 total studies, 76%) as the primary method in resource-rich countries. In contrast, grab sampling was more common (8/14 total studies, 57%) in resource-limited countries. Among detection methods, the reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR)-based sequencing method and quantitative RT-PCR method were commonly used for monitoring SARS-CoV-2 variants in wastewater. Among different variants, the B1.1.7 (Alpha) variant that appeared earlier in the pandemic was the most reported (48/80 total studies), followed by B.1.617.2 (Delta), B.1.351 (Beta), P.1 (Gamma), and others in wastewater. All variants reported in WWS studies followed the same pattern as the clinical reporting within the same timeline, demonstrating that WWS tracked all variants in a timely way when the variants emerged. Thus, wastewater monitoring may be utilized to identify the presence or absence of SARS-CoV-2 and follow the development and transmission of existing and emerging variants. Routine wastewater monitoring is a powerful infectious disease surveillance tool when implemented globally.Peer reviewe

Frontier review on the propensity and repercussion of SARS-CoV-2 migration to aquatic environment

Increased concern has recently emerged pertaining to the occurrence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in aquatic environment during the current coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. While infectious SARS-CoV-2 has yet to be identified in the aquatic environment, the virus potentially enters the wastewater stream from patient excretions and a precautionary approach dictates evaluating transmission pathways to ensure public health and safety. Although enveloped viruses have presumed low persistence in water and are generally susceptible to inactivation by environmental stressors, previously identified enveloped viruses persist in the aqueous environment from days to several weeks. Our analysis suggests that not only the surface water, but also groundwater, represent SARS-CoV-2 control points through possible leaching and infiltrations of effluents from health care facilities, sewage, and drainage water. Most fecally transmitted viruses are highly persistent in the aquatic environment, and therefore, the persistence of SARS-CoV-2 in water is essential to inform its fate in water, wastewater and groundwater and subsequent human exposure

Corn cob silica as an antibacterial support for silver nanoparticles: efficacy on Escherichia coli and Listeria monocytogenes

There is great potential to combine bioresource and recycled materials with nanotechnology for industrial and environmental applications. In a novel approach, silver (Ag) nanoparticles (Ag NPs) were imbedded on amine-functionalized silica obtained from corn cob (ACCS) to produce a composite material that can be used to inactivate bacteria. Transmission electron microscope (TEM) images show near-uniform ACCS particles (34.7 ± 8.6 nm diameter), with Ag NPs (5–10 nm diameter) homogenously dispersed on the surfaces. The potential of ACCS-Ag NPs to rapidly inactivate gram-negative Escherichia coli ATCC 8739 and gram-positive Listeria monocytogenes was investigated. A four-log (> 99.99%) inactivation of the E. coli was achieved within 30 min with 4 mg of ACCS-Ag NPs in a 40-mL PBS suspension (1 × 105 CFU/mL). Extended exposure of ACCS-Ag NP may be required to inactivate L. monocytogenes, suggesting the ACCS-Ag NP composite will be less practical for gram-positive bacteria due to thick cell wall and alternative formulations may need to be developed. Result shows that the potential of corn cob silica as an alternative, eco-friendly support matrix for applications such as bacterial inactivation. The Ag-imbedded, amine-functionalized corn cob silica demonstrates how bio-waste can be combined with nanotechnology to produce useful materials.by Jaehong Shim Payal Mazumder and Manish Kuma