Odour mapping and air quality analysis of a wastewater treatment plant at a seaside tourist area.

Although wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) play a fundamental role in protecting the aquatic environment as they prevent organic matter, nutrients and other pollutants from reaching the natural ecosystems, near residential areas they can generate unpleasant smells and noise. The plant studied in the present work is in a seaside tourist area in the Valencian Community, Spain. The main aim was to detect any possible perceptible H2S concentrations from the WWTP by experimental measurement campaigns (including sensor readings and olfactometry measurements by two experts) plus mathematical modelling. After a thorough data analysis of the essential variables involved, such as wind speed, wind direction and H2S concentrations (the main odorant) and comparing their temporal patterns, it was found that the probability of affecting the residential area was highest from June to August before noon and in the late evening. The hourly H2S concentration, influent flow rate and temperature showed a positive correlation, the strongest (R2 = 0.89) being the relationship between the H2S concentration and influent flow rate. These two variables followed a similar daily pattern and indicated that H2S was emitted when influent wastewater was being pumped into the biological reactor. The H2S median concentration at the source of the emission was below 1393.865 µg/m3 (1 ppm), although concentrations 10 times higher were occasionally recorded. The observed H2S peak-to-mean ratio (1 min to 1 h of integration times) ranged from 1.15 to 16.03. This ratio and its attenuation with distance from the source depended on the atmospheric stability. Both H2S concentrations and variability were considerably reduced after submerging the inlet. The AERMOD modelling framework and applying the peak-to-mean ratio were used to map the peak H2S concentration and determine the best conditions to eliminate the unpleasant odour.

De Novo Design of Integrin α5ß1 Modulating Proteins for Regenerative Medicine.

Integrin α5ß1 is crucial for cell attachment and migration in development and tissue regeneration, and α5ß1 binding proteins could have considerable utility in regenerative medicine and next-generation therapeutics. We use computational protein design to create de novo α5ß1-specific modulating miniprotein binders, called NeoNectins, that bind to and stabilize the open state of α5ß1. When immobilized onto titanium surfaces and throughout 3D hydrogels, the NeoNectins outperform native fibronectin and RGD peptide in enhancing cell attachment and spreading, and NeoNectin-grafted titanium implants outperformed fibronectin and RGD-grafted implants in animal models in promoting tissue integration and bone growth. NeoNectins should be broadly applicable for tissue engineering and biomedicine. One-Sentence Summary: A de novo-designed fibronectin substitute, NeoNectin, is specific for integrin α5ß1 and can be incorporated into biomaterials for regenerative medicine.

Direct Membrane Filtration of Municipal Wastewater: Studying the Most Suitable Conditions for Minimizing Fouling Rate in Commercial Porous Membranes at Demonstration Scale.

This study aimed to evaluate the feasibility of applying a commercial porous membrane to direct filtration of municipal wastewater. The effects of membrane pore size (MF and UF), treated influent (raw wastewater and the primary settler effluent of a municipal wastewater treatment plant) and operating solids concentration (about 1 and 2.6 g L-1) were evaluated on a demonstration plant. Filtration periods of 2-8 h were achieved when using the MF membrane, while these increased to 34-69 days with the UF membrane. This wide difference was due to severe fouling when operating the MF membrane, which was dramatically reduced by the UF membrane. Use of raw wastewater and higher solids concentration showed a significant benefit in the filtration performance when using the UF module. The physical fouling control strategies tested (air sparging and backwashing) proved to be ineffective in controlling UF membrane fouling, although these strategies had a significant impact on MF membrane fouling, extending the operating period from some hours to 5-6 days. The fouling evaluation showed that a cake layer seemed to be the predominant reversible fouling mechanism during each independent filtration cycle. However, as continuous filtration advanced, a large accumulation of irreversible fouling appeared, which could have been related to intermediate/complete pore blocking in the case of the MF membrane, while it could have been produced by standard pore blocking in the case of the UF membrane. Organic matter represented more than 70% of this irreversible fouling in all the experimental conditions evaluated.

Dynamic Membranes for Enhancing Resources Recovery from Municipal Wastewater.

This paper studied the feasibility of using dynamic membranes (DMs) to treat municipal wastewater (MWW). Effluent from the primary settler of a full-scale wastewater treatment plant was treated using a flat 1 µm pore size open monofilament polyamide woven mesh as supporting material. Two supporting material layers were required to self-form a DM in the short-term (17 days of operation). Different strategies (increasing the filtration flux, increasing the concentration of operating solids and coagulant dosing) were used to enhance the required forming time and pollutant capture efficiency. Higher permeate flux and increased solids were shown to be ineffective while coagulant dosing showed improvements in both the required DM forming time and permeate quality. When coagulant was dosed (10 mg L-1) a DM forming time of 7 days and a permeate quality of total suspended solids, chemical oxygen demand, total nitrogen, total phosphorous and turbidity of 24 mg L-1, 58 mg L-1, 38.1 mg L-1, 1.2 mg L-1 and 22 NTU, respectively, was achieved. Preliminary energy and economic balances determined that energy recoveries from 0.032 to 0.121 kWh per m3 of treated water at a cost between €0.002 to €0.003 per m3 of treated water can be obtained from the particulate material recovered in the DM.

Evaluating the Feasibility of Employing Dynamic Membranes for the Direct Filtration of Municipal Wastewater.

The aim of this study was to assess the feasibility of using dynamic membranes for direct filtration of municipal wastewater. The influence of different alternative supporting materials (one or two layers of flat open monofilament woven polyamide meshes with 1 or 5 µm of pore size) was studied. A stable short-term self-forming DM was achieved (from some hours to 3 days) regardless of the supporting material used, producing relatively similar permeate qualities (total suspended solids, chemical oxygen demand, total nitrogen, total phosphorous and turbidity of 67-88 mg L-1, 155-186 mg L-1, 48.7-50.4 mg L-1, 4.7-4.9 mg L-1, and 167-174 NTU, respectively). A DM permeability loss rate of from 5.21 to 10.03 LMH bar-1 day-1 was obtained, which depended on the supporting material used. Unfortunately, the preliminary energy, carbon footprint, and economic evaluations performed showed that although DMs obtain higher pollutant captures than conventional treatments (primary settler), the benefits are not enough to justify their use for treating average municipal wastewater. However, this alternative scheme could be suitable for treating higher-loaded MWW with a higher fraction of organic matter in the non-settleable solids.

Performance evaluation of fault detection methods for wastewater treatment processes.

Several methods to detect faults have been developed in various fields, mainly in chemical and process engineering. However, minimal practical guidelines exist for their selection and application. This work presents an index that allows for evaluating monitoring and diagnosis performance of fault detection methods, which takes into account several characteristics, such as false alarms, false acceptance, and undesirable switching from correct detection to non-detection during a fault event. The usefulness of the index to process engineering is demonstrated first by application to a simple example. Then, it is used to compare five univariate fault detection methods (Shewhart, EWMA, and residuals of EWMA) applied to the simulated results of the Benchmark Simulation Model No. 1 long-term (BSM1_LT). The BSM1_LT, provided by the IWA Task Group on Benchmarking of Control Strategies, is a simulation platform that allows for creating sensor and actuator faults and process disturbances in a wastewater treatment plant. The results from the method comparison using BSM1_LT show better performance to detect a sensor measurement shift for adaptive methods (residuals of EWMA) and when monitoring the actuator signals in a control loop (e.g., airflow). Overall, the proposed index is able to screen fault detection methods.

Alkylphenols and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in eastern Mediterranean Spanish coastal marine bivalves.

This paper reports the first results on alkylphenol pollution in edible bivalves from the Spanish coast. Two sampling campaigns (July 2006 and July 2007) were carried out to determine the concentration of nonylphenol (NP), octylphenol (OP), and eight polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in wild mussels (Mytilus galloprovincialys) and clams (Donax trunculus) at 14 sampling sites along the eastern Mediterranean Spanish coast. The results show that NP is the predominant alkylphenol, being the port of Valencia the most polluted area (up to 147 µg/kg wet weight in clams). Moving away from the ports the concentration of NP in bivalves decreased. OP concentration was below its detection limit in most of the studied areas and its maximum concentration (6 µg/kg w/w) was measured in clams from the port of Sagunto. The presence of low levels of PAHs was observed in most of the studied areas. The total PAHs concentration (i.e., sum of the eight measured PAHs) achieved a maximum value of 10.09 µg/kg w/w in the north coast of Valencia city. The distribution pattern of the individual PAHs showed that both pollution sources petrogenic and pyrolytic were present in the sampled areas. Fluoranthene was the most abundant PAH in mussels while benzo(b)fluoranthene in clams. The maximum concentration of 10 µg/kg w/w for benzo(a)pyrene established by the European Commission was never reached, indeed sampled bivalves showed concentrations 10 times lower than this reference value. Thus, they can be considered safe for human consumption. Despite the low contamination levels, the results show an overall pollution of bivalves by alkylphenol and PAHs as well as an increment in the number of polluted areas from 2006 to 2007. Thus, periodical sampling campaigns should be carried out to monitor the long-term tendency of these toxic and persistent pollutants.

New frontiers from removal to recycling of nitrogen and phosphorus from wastewater in the Circular Economy.

Nutrient recovery technologies are rapidly expanding due to the need for the appropriate recycling of key elements from waste resources in order to move towards a truly sustainable modern society based on the Circular Economy. Nutrient recycling is a promising strategy for reducing the depletion of non-renewable resources and the environmental impact linked to their extraction and manufacture. However, nutrient recovery technologies are not yet fully mature, as further research is needed to optimize process efficiency and enhance their commercial applicability. This paper reviews state-of-the-art of nutrient recovery, focusing on frontier technological advances and economic and environmental innovation perspectives. The potentials and limitations of different technologies are discussed, covering systems based on membranes, photosynthesis, crystallization and other physical and biological nutrient recovery systems (e.g. incineration, composting, stripping and absorption and enhanced biological phosphorus recovery).

Enrichment and contamination level of trace metals in the Mediterranean marine sediments of Spain.

Coastal ecosystems are heavily polluted by human activities. These pollutants reach the aquatic environment and accumulate in the sediment. Among the chemical pollutants, metals represent a notable hazard since they are not biodegradable and have the capability to bioaccumulate, resulting in toxic effects in both the short and long term. In this study, the content of metals and As in marine sediments of the Spanish Mediterranean coast was determined. A total of four annual sampling campaigns were carried out along the Valencian Community coastline, where the presence of eight trace elements (Cr, Cd, Ni, Pb, Cu, Hg, Zn and As) was determined. In this area, the presence of the contaminants is due to both natural and anthropogenic sources. The results obtained allowed, first, to establish nearness Reference Values of the area under study, second, to use several pollution indices (Contamination Factor, Enrichment Factor, Geoaccumulation Factor, Nemerow Pollution Index, and Modified Pollution Index) to determine contamination levels in the area, and finally to select the best index to apply in this coastal zone. The best indices to use in this region are EF and MPI since both take into consideration the natural contributions of the elements studied. The results revealed that according to the index used only two studied zones are classified as Heavily and Severely polluted. The remaining zones (between 25 and 29%) were classified as Moderately or Moderately to Heavily polluted and most of the zones (63% to 100%) were classified as Unpolluted/Low Polluted and Unpolluted/Slightly Polluted. The outcomes obtained with this work indicate that in general, the Valencian coast does not present significant levels of pollution due to the studied trace elements.

Long-term study of seasonal changes in phytoplankton community structure in the western Mediterranean (Valencian Community).

Ecosystem-based management is one of the strategies to protect the coastal areas. One of the key elements is phytoplankton community composition since it represents a good indicator of anthropogenic pressures. This identifies the seasonal patterns of phytoplankton, and its alterations by the stress factors induced by human activities are highly valuable. This research represents the first attempt to study that 476 km of western Mediterranean coastal belongs to the Valencian Community (Spain) based on the phytoplankton composition approach. The water samples during a 5-year period (6757 water samples) were taken to determine its phytoplankton group's dynamics and its relationship with anthropogenic stressors by means of a series of plots and statistical analyses. Diatoms are the group that most contribute to the whole community composition with two periods of maximum abundance. The Prasinophyceae and Cryptophyceae show unimodal patterns varying its maximum values depending on the season. The picocyanobacteria group exhibited the clearest and best-defined pattern. Other groups have no clear seasonal pattern and become abundant in areas of higher anthropogenic pressure. Graphical abstract Figure A contains poor quality of text in image. Otherwise, please provide replacement figure file.A new graphical abstract, with higher quality is attached.

Assessment of the impact of heavy metals in sediments along the Spanish Mediterranean coastline: pollution indices.

A comprehensive study was carried out to evaluate the occurrence, significance of concentrations and spatial distribution of heavy metals (Cr, Cd, Ni, Cu, Pb, Hg, Zn and As) in sediments along the Valencia coastline (Spain). The sampling campaign covered 476 km of the coastline in a 4-year period. The highest concentrations of metals in the sediments were mainly Cr, Ni, Zn and Cd (up to 28.93 mg Cr kg-1 dw, 15.80 mg Ni kg-1 dw, 57.13 mg Zn kg-1 dw and 0.293 mg Cd kg-1 dw), obtained in the northern areas, some central areas and in an isolated area on the southern coastline. The Sediment Quality Guidelines applied reveal that for all metals studied, none of them reached, or exceed, the "effects of median range" or the "probable effect level". The pollution index reveals that 75% of the stretch coastline has a low priority risk level and the rest "medium-low priority risk level". And, lastly, Potential Ecological Risk Index shows that all but one zone have low ecological risk.

Acclimatised rumen culture for raw microalgae conversion into biogas: Linking microbial community structure and operational parameters in anaerobic membrane bioreactors (AnMBR).

Ruminal fluid was inoculated in an Anaerobic Membrane Reactor (AnMBR) to produce biogas from raw Scenedesmus. This work explores the microbial ecology of the system during stable operation at different solids retention times (SRT). The 16S rRNA amplicon analysis revealed that the acclimatised community was mainly composed of Anaerolineaceae, Spirochaetaceae, Lentimicrobiaceae and Cloacimonetes fermentative and hydrolytic members. During the highest biodegradability achieved in the AnMBR (62%) the dominant microorganisms were Fervidobacterium and Methanosaeta. Different microbial community clusters were observed at different SRT conditions. Interestingly, syntrophic bacteria Gelria and Smithella were enhanced after increasing 2-fold the organic loading rate, suggesting their importance in continuous systems producing biogas from raw microalgae.

A multivariate approach of changes in filamentous, nitrifying and protist communities and nitrogen removal efficiencies during ozone dosage in a full-scale wastewater treatment plant.

The application of low ozone dosage to minimize the problems caused by filamentous foaming was evaluated in two bioreactors of an urban wastewater treatment plant. Filamentous and nitrifying bacteria, as well as protist and metazoa, were monitored throughout a one-year period by FISH and conventional microscopy to examine the effects of ozone application on these specific groups of microorganisms. Multivariate data analysis was used to determine if the ozone dosage was a key factor determining the low carbon and nitrogen removal efficiencies observed throughout the study period, as well as to evaluate its impact on the biological communities monitored. The results of this study suggested that ozonation did not significantly affect the COD removal efficiency, although it had a moderate effect on ammonia removal efficiency. Filamentous bacteria were the community most influenced by ozone (24.9% of the variance explained by ozone loading rate), whilst protist and metazoa were less affected (11.9% of the variance explained). Conversely, ozone loading rate was not a factor in determining the nitrifying bacterial community abundance and composition, although this environmental variable was correlated with ammonia removal efficiency. The results of this study suggest that different filamentous morphotypes were selectively affected by ozone.

[Primary pleomorphic adenoma (chondroid syringoma) of the external auditory canal. Case report and literature review]. / Adenoma pleomórfico primario (siringoma condroide) del conducto auditivo externo. A propósito de un caso y revisión de la literatura.

Chondroid syringoma of the external auditory canal is an extremely rare neoplasm, representing the cutaneous counterpart of pleomorphic adenoma of salivary glands. This tumour is thought to derive from the apocrine duct of the folliculo-sebaceous-apocrine unit. We report the case of a 68-year-old male in whom the clinical and radiological examinations showed a well-circumscribed tumour limited to the external auditory canal. The diagnosis was confirmed by histologic examination. We also reviewed the literature.

Monitoring dissolved orthophosphate in a struvite precipitation reactor with a voltammetric electronic tongue.

This study demonstrates the feasibility of using a voltammetric electronic tongue to monitor effluent dissolved orthophosphate concentration in a struvite precipitation reactor. The electrochemical response of the electronic tongue to the presence of orthophosphate in samples collected from the effluent of the precipitation reactor is used to predict orthophosphate concentration via a statistical model based on Partial Least Squares (PLS) Regression. PLS predictions were suitable for this monitoring application in which precipitation efficiencies higher than 80% (i.e., effluent dissolved orthophosphate concentrations lower than 40mg P-PO4(3-) L(-1)) could be considered as indicator of good process performance. The electronic tongue consisted of a set of metallic (noble and non-noble) electrodes housed inside a stainless steel cylinder which was used as the body of the electronic tongue system. Fouling problems were prevented via a simple mechanical polishing of the electrodes. The measurement of each sample with the electronic tongue was done in less than 3s. Conductivity of the samples only affected the electronic tongue marginally, being the main electrochemical response due to the orthophosphate concentration in the samples. Copper, silver, iridium and rhodium were the electrodes that exhibited noticeable response correlated with the dissolved orthophosphate concentration variations, while gold, platinum and especially cobalt and nickel were the less useful electrodes for this application.

[A comparative study on efficacy of glucocorticoids, mineralocorticoids and vasoactive drugs on reversing hearing loss in patients suffering idiopathic sensorineural cochlear hypoacusis. A preliminary clinical trial]. / Estudio comparativo de la eficacia de los glucocorticoides, mineralocorticoides y vasodilatadores en la recuperación auditiva de pacientes que padecen hipoacusia neurosensorial idiopática de localización coclear. Ensayo clínico preliminar.

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES: Sensory neural hearing loss (SNHL) is a disorder characterised by an important deterioration of the auditory function. Re-establishing normal ion homeostasis of the endolymph could be related to hearing recovery and it might be mediated by mineralocorticoids. The main purpose of this preliminary, randomized controlled clinical trial was assessing the recovery of idiopathic sensory neural cochlear hearing loss (SNHL) by comparing the efficacy of 2 types of steroids versus vasodilators. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The 3-month intervention involved 70 patients, allocated into 4 different groups: a control with no medication, consisting of 14 patients (8 men and 6 women); a vasodilator group of 21 patients (11 men and 10 women); a glucocorticoid group with 16 patients (10 men and 6 women); and a mineralocorticoid therapy group, consisting of 19 patients (11 men and 8 women). The level of hearing loss and its topography were estimated using Liminal Tone Audiometry (LTA) and Auditory Brainstem Response (ABR). RESULTS: Our research found overall greater efficacy of mineralocorticoids versus glucocorticoids and vasodilators. There was better response in women than in men and it was higher from the left ear, regardless of patient gender. CONCLUSIONS: The hearing gain was significantly superior in the mineralocorticoid group, followed by the glucocorticoid group. However, the responses to vasodilators were lesser and of low statistical significance.

A voltammetric electronic tongue as tool for water quality monitoring in wastewater treatment plants.

The use of a voltammetric electronic tongue as tool for the prediction of concentration levels of certain water quality parameters from influent and effluent wastewater from a Submerged Anaerobic Membrane Bioreactor pilot plant applied to domestic wastewater treatment is proposed here. The electronic tongue consists of a set of noble (Au, Pt, Rh, Ir, and Ag) and non-noble (Ni, Co and Cu) electrodes that were housed inside a stainless steel cylinder which was used as the body of the electronic tongue system. As a previous step an electrochemical study of the response of the ions sulphate, orthophosphate, acetate, bicarbonate and ammonium was carried out in water using the electrodes contained in the electronic tongue. The second part of the work was devoted to the application of the electronic tongue to the characterization of the influent and effluent waters from the wastewater treatment plant. Partial Least Squares analysis was used to obtain a correlation between the data from the tongue and the pollution parameters measured in the laboratory such as soluble chemical oxygen demand (CODs), soluble biological oxygen demand (BODs), ammonia (NH(4)-N), orthophosphate (PO(4)-P), Sulphate (SO(4)-S), acetic acid (HAC) and alkalinity (Alk). A total of 28 and 11 samples were used in the training and the validation steps, respectively, for both influent and effluent water samples. The electronic tongue showed relatively good predictive power for the determination of BOD, COD, NH(4)-N, PO(4)-P, SO(4)-S, and Alk.