Novel technologies for WWTP optimization in footprint, nutrients valorization, and energy consumption

The continuous development of the human society causes stress to natural systems: pollution increase, deforestation, global resource depletion, etc. Water resource contamination and water scarcity are among the major challenges to be confronted by humanity in the 21st century. Present wastewater treatment technologies were developed between the end of the 19th century and during 20th century. Technology evolved from simple aqueduct sewerages that dumped in waterways without treatment to a complete treatment; including physical, chemical and biological treatments, aimed to remove solids, organic matter and main nutrients. Nowadays, novel concepts are taken into account in order to face up to new environmental, economic and social limitations. At the same time, these new concepts have to deal with aspects like the population growth, the global climate change, the water scarcity, etc

An optimised control system to steer the transition from anaerobic mono- to co-digestion in full-scale plants

Despite the rapid increase of anaerobic co-digestion works over the last years, the very small number of pilot- and full-scale studies available in the literature is a major barrier to its full-scale implementation. In this paper, a control strategy methodology was applied in a full-scale sludge digester to safely steer the transition from anaerobic mono- to co-digestion and to maximize methane production.Traditional wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are electrical consumers, with a usual high demand in the range of 0.3 to 0.6 kWh/m3 of wastewater treated. Their digesters are commonly oversized, and consequently operated at low organic loading rates (OLRs). This opens a great opportunity for anaerobic co-digestion (AcoD) as an interesting technology to increase methane productivity and the electrical self-production in WWTPs. However, there is a quite limited implementation of AcoD at full-scale plants, since the transition from mono- to co-digestion and the further AcoD optimisation is a crucial and delicate step that could lead to the inhibition of the process if not thoroughly controlled. In this study, a methodology based on an optimum control strategy is explained in detail and it was applied to safely and optimally steer the transition from mono- to co-digestion and to maximize methane production during AcoD. A lab-scale anaerobic digester of 14 L mimicking the full-scale one (3,500 m3) was operated 30 days in advance to anticipate and if needed correct any operational destabilization that might occurr. As a result, the treatment of sewage sludge with two co-substrates (coming from a pig slaughterhouse and from a frying industry), which accounted for just 11% of the feeding flowrate, at a hydraulic retention time of 20 days allowed to raise the OLR and the methane production by 2-fold and 3-fold, respectively, increasing the self-produced electricity from 25% to 75% of the total demand of the WWTP. The diagnosis indicators proved to be accurate to take decisions concerning wastes blending and the strategy of increasing OLR. Besides, the proposed control system provides the steps to ensure a safe transition from anaerobic mono- to co-digestion and further optimisation at full-scale plantsThis work was supported by SmartGreenGas project (Spanish Government, AEI, 2014-CE224). The authors from Universidade de Santiago de Compostela belong to the Galician Competitive Research Group ED431C 2017/029 and to the CRETUS Strategic Partnership (AGRUP2017/01). All these programs are co-funded by FEDER (EU)S

Effect of Coagulant-Flocculant Reagents on Aerobic Granular Biomass

This is the post-print reviewed version of the following article: Val del Río, A., Morales, N., Figueroa, M., Mosquera-Corral, A., Campos, J.L., Méndez, R. 2012. Effect of coagulant-flocculant reagents on aerobic granular biomass. Journal of Chemical Technology and Biotechnology, 87(7), 908-913, which has been published in final form at http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/jctb.3698/full. This article may be used for non-commercial purposesBACKGROUND: Technologies based on aerobic granular biomass are presented as a new alternative for its application to the wastewater treatment due to its advantages in comparison with the conventional activated sludge ones. However the properties of the aerobic granules can be influenced by the presence of residual amounts of coagulant-flocculant reagents, frequently used as pre-treatment before the biological process. In this work the effect of these compounds on aerobic granular biomass development was tested. RESULTS: The presence of coagulant-flocculant reagents led to a worse biomass retention capacity with a lower VSS concentration compared to a control reactor (4.5 vs. 7.9 g VSS/L) and with a higher SVI (70 vs. 40 mL/g TSS) and diameter (5.0 vs. 2.3 mm). These reagents also caused a decrease in the maximum oxygen consumption rate, but the removal efficiencies of organic matter (90%) and nitrogen (60%) achieved were similar than the control reactor. CONCLUSION: The continuous presence of residual levels of coagulant-flocculant reagents from the pre-treatment unit negatively affected the formation process and the physical properties of the aerobic granules, however the removal of organic matter and nitrogen were not affectedThis work was funded by the Spanish Government (TOGRANSYS CTQ2008-06792-C02-01, NOVEDAR_Consolider CSD2007-00055) and Ministry of Education of Spain (FPU AP2006-01478).S

Bacterial community dynamics in long‐term operation of a pilot plant using aerobic granular sludge to treat pig slurry

This is a Post-print version of the articleAerobic granular sludge represents an interesting approach for simultaneous organic matter and nitrogen removal in wastewater treatment plants. However, the information about microbial communities in aerobic granular systems dealing with industrial wastewater like pig slurry is limited. Herein, bacterial diversity and dynamics were assessed in a pilot scale plant using aerobic granular sludge for organic matter and nitrogen elimination from swine slurry during more than 300 days. Results indicated that bacterial composition evolved throughout the operational period from flocculent activated sludge, used as inoculum, to mature aerobic granules. Bacterial diversity increased at the beginning of the granulation process and then declined due to the application of transient organic matter and nitrogen loads. The operational conditions of the pilot plant and the degree of granulation determined the microbial community of the aerobic granules. Brachymonas, Zoogloea and Thauera were attributed with structural function as they are able to produce extracellular polymeric substances to maintain the granular structure. Nitrogen removal was justified by partial nitrification (Nitrosomonas) and denitrification (Thauera and Zoogloea), while Comamonas was identified as the main organic matter oxidizing bacteria. Overall, clear links between bacterial dynamics and composition with process performance were found and will help to predict their biological functions in wastewater ecosystems improving the future control of the processThis work has been financed by FISHPOL (CTQ2014-55021-R) and GRANDSEA (CTM2014-55397-JIN) projects from the Spanish Government and co-funded by FEDER. The authors belong to the Galician Competitive Research Group GRC 2013-032, programme co-funded by FEDER, and CRETUS (AGRUP2015/02)S

Digested blackwater treatment in a partial nitritation-anammox reactor under repeated starvation and reactivation periods

Wastewater source-separation and on-site treatment systems face severe problems in wastewater availability. Therefore, the effect of repeated short-term starvation and reactivation periods on a partial nitritation-anammox (PN/AMX) based processes were assessed treating digested blackwater at room temperature. Two sequencing batch reactors (SBR) were operated, one of them during 24 h/day the whole week (SBR-C, which served as control) and the other with repeated starvation/reactivation periods during the nights and the weekends (SBR-D), using simulated blackwater (300 mg N/L and 200 mg COD/L) as substrate. Results showed no remarkable differences in overall processes performance between both reactors, achieving total nitrogen removal efficiencies (NRE) around 90%. Furthermore, no significant variations were measured in specific activities, except for the aerobic heterotrophic one that was lower in SBR-D, presumably due to the exposure to anoxic conditions. Then, the technical feasibility of applying the PN/AMX system to treat real blackwater produced in an office building during working hours was successfully proved in a third reactor (SBR-R), with the same starvation/reactivation periods tested in SBR-D. Despite the low temperature, ranging from 14 to 21 °C, total NRE up to 95% and total nitrogen concentration in the effluent lower than 10 mg N/L were achieved. Moreover, the PN/AMX process performance was immediately recovered after a long starvation period of 15 days (simulating holidays). Results proved for the first time the feasibility and long-term stability (100 days) of applying the PN/AMX processes for the treatment (and potential reuse) of blackwater in a decentralized system where wastewater is not always availableThis work was funded by the Pioneer_STP (PCIN-2015-22 MINECO (AEI)/ID 199 (EU)) project by the WaterWorks2014 Cofunded Call (Water JPI/Horizon 2020) and by MEDRAR (IN852A 2016) project by the Galician Government. The work of G. Tocco was financially supported by the University of Cagliari (Italy) and by European Union within the framework of the Erasmus+ Traineeship Programme (2017-1-IT02-KA103-035458). A. Val del Rio is a Xunta de Galicia fellow (ED418B 2017/075). Authors from the USC belong to CRETUS Strategic Partnership (ED431E 2018/01) and to the Galician Competitive Research Group (GRC-ED431C 2017/29). All these programs are co-funded by FEDER (EU) fundsS

Nitrite oxidizing bacteria suppression based on in-situ free nitrous acid production at mainstream conditions

"This is the accepted manuscript of the following article: Pedrouso A., Val del Río Á., Morales N., Vázquez-Padín J. R., Campos J. L., Méndez R. and Mosquera-Corral A. (2017). Nitrite oxidizing bacteria suppression based on in-situ free nitrous acid production at mainstream conditions. Separation and Purification Technology 186, 55-62, which has been published in final form at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.seppur.2017.05.043. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Elsevier."The application of autotrophic nitrogen removal processes in the main line of wastewater treatment plants will contribute to achieve its self-energy-sufficiency. However, the effective suppression of nitrite oxidizing bacteria (NOB) activity at the conditions of low temperature and low ammonium concentration (mainstream conditions) was identified as one of the main bottlenecks. In this study, stable partial nitritation at 16 °C and 50 mg NH4+-N/L was achieved maintaining inside the reactor free nitrous acid (FNA) concentrations inhibitory for NOB (>0.02 mg HNO2-N/L), without dissolved oxygen concentration control. The FNA inhibitory concentration was generated by the partial nitritation process, and its stimulation was studied with two different inhibitors: sodium azide and nitrite. The microbiological analysis revealed that, throughout the operational period with inhibitory FNA levels, the NOB populations (dominated by Nitrospira) were effectively washed out from the reactor. This is an advantage that allowed maintaining a good stability of the process, even when the FNA concentration was not enough to inhibit the NOB, taking about 40 days to develop significant activity. The observed delay on the NOB development is expected to enable the establishment of corrective actions to avoid the partial nitritation destabilization. The use of the FNA to achieve a stable partial nitritation process is recommended to profit from the natural pH decrease associated to the nitritation process and from its favoured accumulation at low temperatures as those from the mainstream. In this research study an analysis about the influence of ammonium and alkalinity concentrations was also performed to know in which scenarios the FNA inhibitory concentration can be achievedAuthors want to thank the Pioneer_STP (ID 199) project funded by the WaterWorks2014 Cofunded Call (Water JPI/Horizon 2020). This work was also funded by the Spanish Government through FISHPOL (CTQ2014-55021-R) and GRANDSEA (CTM2014-55397-JIN). The authors from the USC belong to CRETUS (AGRUP2015/02) and the Galician Competitive Research Group (GRC 2013-032). All these programs are co-funded by FEDER funds. This work was as well funded by the Chilean Government through the Project FONDECYT 1150285 and CONICYT/FONDAP/15130015S

Performance and microbial features of the partial nitritation-anammox process treating fish canning wastewater with variable salt concentrations

The partial nitritation-anammox (PN-AMX) process applied to wastewaters with high NaCl concentration was studied until now using simulated media, without considering the effect of organic matter concentration and the shift in microbial populations. This research work presents results on the application of this process to the treatment of saline industrial wastewater. Obtained results indicated that the PN-AMX process has the capability to recover its initial activity after a sudden/acute salt inhibition event (up to 16 g NaCl/L). With a progressive salt concentration increase for 150 days, the PN-AMX process was able to remove the 80% of the nitrogen at 7–9 g NaCl/L. The microbiological data indicated that NaCl and ammonia concentrations and temperature are important factors shaping PN-AMX communities. Thus, the NOB abundance (Nitrospira) decreases with the increase of the salt concentration, while heterotrophic denitrifiers are able to outcompete anammox after a peak of organic matter in the feedingThis work was supported by the Spanish Government through GRANDSEA (CTM2014-55397-JIN) and FISHPOL (CTQ2014-55021-R) projects co-funded by FEDER, and the Chilean Government (CONICYT/FONDAP/15130015). The authors from the USC belong to CRETUS (AGRUP2015/02) and the Galician Competitive Research Group (GRC 2013-032), programs co-funded by FEDERS

Common Variation in the PIN1 Locus Increases the Genetic Risk to Suffer from Sertoli Cell-Only Syndrome

Funding Information: Funding: This work was supported by the Plan Andaluz de Investigación, Desarrollo e Innovación (PAIDI 2020) (ref. PY20_00212, P20_00583), and the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness through the Spanish National Plan for Scientific and Technical Research and Innovation (ref. SAF2016–78722-R, PID2020–120157RB-I00) and the Proyectos I + D + i del Programa Operativo FEDER 2020 (ref. B-CTS-584-UGR20, B-CTS-260-UGR20). FDC was supported by the “Ramón y Cajal” program (ref. RYC-2014–16458), and LBC was supported by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness through the “Juan de la Cierva Incorporación” program (Grant ref. IJC2018– 038026-I, funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033), all of them including FEDER funds. AGJ was funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 and FSE “El FSE invierte en tu futuro”(grant ref. FPU20/02926). SGM was funded by a previously mentioned project (ref. PY20_00212). IPATIMUP integrates the i3S Research Unit, which is partially supported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT), financed by the European Social Funds (COMPETE-FEDER) and National Funds (projects PEstC/SAU/LA0003/2013 and POCI-01–0145-FEDER-007274). AML is funded by the Portuguese Government through FCT (IF/01262/2014). PIM is supported by the FCT post-doctoral fellowship (SFRH/BPD/120777/2016), financed from the Portuguese State Budget of the Ministry for Science, Technology and High Education and from the European Social Fund, available through the Programa Operacional do Capital Humano. ToxOmics—Centre for Toxicogenomics and Human Health, Genetics, Oncology and Human Toxicology, Nova Medical School, Lisbon, is also partially supported by FCT (Projects: UID/BIM/00009/2013 and UIDB/UIDP/00009/2020). SLarriba received support from Instituto de Salud Carlos III (grant DTS18/00101], co-funded by FEDER funds/European Regional Development Fund (ERDF)—a way to build Europe), and from “Generalitat de Catalunya” (grant 2017SGR191). SLarriba is sponsored by the “Researchers Consolidation Program” from the SNS-Dpt. Salut Generalitat de Catalunya (Exp. CES09/020). This article is related to the Ph.D. Doctoral Thesis of Miriam Cerván-Martín (grant ref. BES-2017–081222 funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 and FSE “El FSE invierte en tu futuro”). Publisher Copyright: © 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.We aimed to analyze the role of the common genetic variants located in the PIN1 locus, a relevant prolyl isomerase required to control the proliferation of spermatogonial stem cells and the integrity of the blood–testis barrier, in the genetic risk of developing male infertility due to a severe spermatogenic failure (SPGF). Genotyping was performed using TaqMan genotyping assays for three PIN1 taggers (rs2287839, rs2233678 and rs62105751). The study cohort included 715 males diagnosed with SPGF and classified as suffering from non-obstructive azoospermia (NOA, n = 505) or severe oligospermia (SO, n = 210), and 1058 controls from the Iberian Peninsula. The allelic frequency differences between cases and controls were analyzed by the means of logistic regression models. A subtype specific genetic association with the subset of NOA patients classified as suffering from the Sertoli cell-only (SCO) syndrome was observed with the minor alleles showing strong risk effects for this subset (ORaddrs2287839 = 1.85 (1.17–2.93), ORaddrs2233678 = 1.62 (1.11–2.36), ORaddrs62105751 = 1.43 (1.06–1.93)). The causal variants were predicted to affect the binding of key transcription factors and to produce an altered PIN1 gene expression and isoform balance. In conclusion, common non-coding single-nucleotide polymorphisms located in PIN1 increase the genetic risk to develop SCO.publishersversionpublishe

Contribution of TEX15 genetic variants to the risk of developing severe non-obstructive oligozoospermia

Background: Severe spermatogenic failure (SPGF) represents one of the most relevant causes of male infertility. This pathological condition can lead to extreme abnormalities in the seminal sperm count, such as severe oligozoospermia (SO) or non-obstructive azoospermia (NOA). Most cases of SPGF have an unknown aetiology, and it is known that this idiopathic form of male infertility represents a complex condition. In this study, we aimed to evaluate whether common genetic variation in TEX15, which encodes a key player in spermatogenesis, is involved in the susceptibility to idiopathic SPGF.Materials and Methods: We designed a genetic association study comprising a total of 727 SPGF cases (including 527 NOA and 200 SO) and 1,058 unaffected men from the Iberian Peninsula. Following a tagging strategy, three tag single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of TEX15 (rs1362912, rs323342, and rs323346) were selected for genotyping using TaqMan probes. Case-control association tests were then performed by logistic regression models. In silico analyses were also carried out to shed light into the putative functional implications of the studied variants.Results: A significant increase in TEX15-rs1362912 minor allele frequency (MAF) was observed in the group of SO patients (MAF = 0.0842) compared to either the control cohort (MAF = 0.0468, OR = 1.90, p = 7.47E-03) or the NOA group (MAF = 0.0472, OR = 1.83, p = 1.23E-02). The genotype distribution of the SO population was also different from those of both control (p = 1.14E-02) and NOA groups (p = 4.33-02). The analysis of functional annotations of the human genome suggested that the effect of the SO-associated TEX15 variants is likely exerted by alteration of the binding affinity of crucial transcription factors for spermatogenesis.Conclusion: Our results suggest that common variation in TEX15 is involved in the genetic predisposition to SO, thus supporting the notion of idiopathic SPGF as a complex trait

Contribution of TEX15 genetic variants to the risk of developing severe non-obstructive oligozoospermia

Lisbon clinical group co-authors and IVIRMA group co-authors Ana Aguiar, (Unidade de Medicina da Reproducao, Hospital de Santa Maria, Centro Hospitalar Lisboa Norte, Lisboa, Portugal); Carlos Calhaz-Jorge, (Unidade de Medicina da Reproducao, Hospital de Santa Maria, Centro Hospitalar Lisboa Norte, Lisboa, Portugal); Joaquim Nunes, (Unidade de Medicina da Reproducao, Hospital de Santa Maria, Centro Hospitalar Lisboa Norte, Lisboa, Portugal); Sandra Sousa (Unidade de Medicina da Reproducao, Hospital de Santa Maria, Centro Hospitalar Lisboa Norte, Lisboa, Portugal), and Sónia Correia (Centro de Medicina Reprodutiva, Maternidade Alfredo da Costa, Centro Hospitalar Lisboa Central, Lisboa, Portugal); Maria Graça Pinto(Centro de Medicina Reprodutiva, Maternidade Alfredo da Costa, Centro Hospitalar Lisboa Central, Lisboa, Portugal). Alberto Pacheco, (IVIRMA Madrid, Spain); Cristina González, (IVIRMA Sevilla, Spain); Susana Gómez, (IVIRMA Lisboa, Portugal); David Amorós, (IVIRMA Barcelona, Spain); Jesús Aguilar, (IVIRMA Vigo, Spain); Fernando Quintana, (IVIRMA Bilbao, Spain).Background: Severe spermatogenic failure (SPGF) represents one of the most relevant causes of male infertility. This pathological condition can lead to extreme abnormalities in the seminal sperm count, such as severe oligozoospermia (SO) or non-obstructive azoospermia (NOA). Most cases of SPGF have an unknown aetiology, and it is known that this idiopathic form of male infertility represents a complex condition. In this study, we aimed to evaluate whether common genetic variation in TEX15, which encodes a key player in spermatogenesis, is involved in the susceptibility to idiopathic SPGF. Materials and Methods: We designed a genetic association study comprising a total of 727 SPGF cases (including 527 NOA and 200 SO) and 1,058 unaffected men from the Iberian Peninsula. Following a tagging strategy, three tag single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of TEX15 (rs1362912, rs323342, and rs323346) were selected for genotyping using TaqMan probes. Case-control association tests were then performed by logistic regression models. In silico analyses were also carried out to shed light into the putative functional implications of the studied variants. Results: A significant increase in TEX15-rs1362912 minor allele frequency (MAF) was observed in the group of SO patients (MAF = 0.0842) compared to either the control cohort (MAF = 0.0468, OR = 1.90, p = 7.47E-03) or the NOA group (MAF = 0.0472, OR = 1.83, p = 1.23E-02). The genotype distribution of the SO population was also different from those of both control (p = 1.14E-02) and NOA groups (p = 4.33–02). The analysis of functional annotations of the human genome suggested that the effect of the SO-associated TEX15 variants is likely exerted by alteration of the binding affinity of crucial transcription factors for spermatogenesis. Conclusion: Our results suggest that common variation in TEX15 is involved in the genetic predisposition to SO, thus supporting the notion of idiopathic SPGF as a complex trait.This work was supported by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation through the Spanish National Plan for Scientific and Technical Research and Innovation (PID 2020-120157RB-I00) and the Andalusian Government through the research projects of “Plan Andaluz de Investigacion, Desarrollo e Innovacion (PAIDI 2020)” (ref. PY20_00212) and “Programa Operativo FEDER 2020” (ref. B-CTS-584-UGR20). LB-C was supported by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation through the “Juan de la Cierva Incorporacion” program (Grant ref. IJC 2018-038026- I, funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033), which includes FEDER funds. AG-J was funded by MCIN/AEI/ 10.13039/501100011033 and FSE “El FSE invierte en tu futuro” (grant ref. FPU20/02926). IPATIMUP integrates the i3S Research Unit, which is partially supported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT), financed by the European Social Funds (COMPETE-FEDER) and National Funds (projects PEstC/SAU/LA0003/2013 and POCI-01-0145-FEDER-007274). PM is supported by the FCT post-doctoral fellowship (SFRH/BPD/120777/2016), financed from the Portuguese State Budget of the Ministry for Science, Technology and High Education and from the European Social Fund, available through the Programa Operacional do Capital Humano. ToxOmics—Centre for Toxicogenomics and Human Health, Genetics, Oncology and Human Toxicology, Nova Medical School, Lisbon, is also partially supported by FCT (UID/BIM/00009/2016 and UIDB/00009/2020). SL received support from Instituto de Salud Carlos III (grant: DTS18/00101], co-funded by FEDER funds/European Regional Development Fund (ERDF)-a way to build Europe-), and from “Generalitat de Catalunya” (grant 2017SGR191). SL is sponsored by the “Researchers Consolidation Program” from the SNS-Dpt. Salut Generalitat de Catalunya (Exp. CES09/020). This article is related to the Ph.D. Doctoral Thesis of AG-J.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio