Zinc and copper supplements enhance trichloroethylene removal by Pseudomonas plecoglossicida in water.

The effects of two microelements, zinc and copper, on the aerobic co-metabolic removal of trichloroethylene (10 mg/L) by the isolate Pseudomonas plecoglossicida were investigated. The strain was previously isolated from a petroleum-contaminated site using toluene (150 mg/L) as substrate. Different concentrations (1, 10 and 100 mg/L) of microelements provided with SO42- and Cl- were tested. The results showed the supplement of Zn2+ and Cu2+ at the low concentration (1 mg/L) significantly enhanced cell growth. The removal efficiencies for toluene and trichloroethylene were also enhanced at the low concentration (1 mg/L) of Zn2+ and Cu2+. Compared to the control without zinc supplement, higher concentrations of zinc (10 and 100 mg/L) enhanced the removal efficiencies for both toluene and trichloroethylene in the first three days but showed some inhibitory effect afterward. However, the higher concentrations of Cu2+ (10 and 100 mg/L) always showed inhibitory to the toluene removal while showing inhibitory to the TCE removal after three days. For both Zn2+ and Cu2+, the anions SO42- and Cl- did not show significant difference in their effects on the toluene removal. A possible mechanism for Zn2+ and Cu2+ to enhance the removal of toluene and trichloroethylene would be their involvement in toluene oxygenase-based transformation processes. In addition, high concentrations of Zn2+ and Cu2+ ions could be removed from the liquid by the cells accordingly. The results imply a potential of supplementing low concentrations of zinc and copper to enhance bioremediation of the sites co-contaminated with toluene and trichloroethylene.

Improved anaerobic co-digestion of food waste and domestic wastewater by copper supplementation - Microbial community change and enhanced effluent quality.

Anaerobic co-digesters are biorefineries for energy recovery from food waste and domestic wastewater via methane production. Nonetheless, the performance of this technology was not always satisfied due to the long chain fatty acids (LCFAs) generation from food waste. Micronutrient supplementation is an effective strategy that could be applied during the anaerobic (co-)digestion to further enhance the digestion efficiency while treating food waste. In this study, supplementing copper (as CuSO4 and CuCl2) at 10, 30, and 50 mg/L Cu2+ was selected to further enhance the methane production of anaerobic co-digester while treating food waste and domestic wastewater. Overall, with the supplementation of copper, the chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal efficiency was over 90%, while higher methane yields (0.260-0.325 L CH4/g COD removed) were obtained compared to the control without supplementation (0.175 L CH4/g COD removed). For the cumulative methane yield, the highest increment of 94.1% was obtained when 10 mg/L of Cu2+ were added. The results showed copper as a cofactor of many microbial enzymes and coenzymes involved in the methane production further improved both methane production and COD removal efficiency. Meanwhile, the microbial community analysis verified the copper supplementation significantly changed the bacterial communities but with the limited effect on the diversity of archaea. Furthermore, since the anaerobic co-digester was not that much efficient on the nutrients removal, the effluent from the upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactor was further treated by the anaerobic/anoxic/oxic (A2O) rector and the resulting effluent reached the satisfying quality in terms of COD, total nitrogen (TN), and NH3-N removal, meeting the regional effluent discharge limits.

Effect of COD/TP ratio on biological nutrient removal in A²O and SBR processes coupled with microfiltration and effluent reuse potential.

Two bench-scale hybrid processes, anaerobic/anoxic/oxic (A(2)O) reactor and sequencing batch reactor (SBR), each followed by the microfiltration (MF) system, were simultaneously operated to compare their performances on the removal of organics and phosphorus from both synthetic and real wastewater to further explore the potential for effluent reuse. The effects of different influent chemical oxygen demand (COD) to total phosphorus (TP) ratios (27, 50, 80, and 200) were investigated. For both processes, when the influent COD/TP ratio was 200, the effluent quality was satisfactory for some reuse potential. The MF membrane system showed an evident further removal of COD (20-89%) and color (18-60%), especially the removal of suspended solids (SS) and turbidity with the final effluent SS <1 mg/L and turbidity <0.1 NTU. When real wastewater was tested, the effluent quality was adequate and met the standard goals for regional reuse purposes.

Determination of total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH) in agricultural soils near a petrochemical complex in Guangzhou, China.

The total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH) pollution in regional agricultural soils was investigated. Seventy soil samples collected from surface layers (0-20 cm) and horizons of five selected pedons in the vicinity of a petrochemical complex in Guangzhou, China were analyzed, and the vertical variation and spatial variability of TPH were evaluated. The TPH concentration in top soils around the petrochemical complex ranged from 1,179.3 to 6,354.9 mg kg( - 1), with the average of 2,676.6 mg kg( - 1). Furthermore, significant differences between land-use types showed that the TPH concentration in top soils was strongly influenced by accidental spills. Both the TPH trends in pedons and the identified hot-spot areas also showed that the accidental explosions or burning accidents were mainly responsible for the pollution. The results reported here suggest that the regular monitoring and inspection shall be conducted for safety and to avoid or minimize the accidents, and the effective measures should be taken to remediate the contaminated areas and to assure that the important industrialization of Guangzhou area would not mean human health risks near the petrochemical complex.

Bio-removal of mixture of benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylenes/total petroleum hydrocarbons/trichloroethylene from contaminated water.

Four pure cultures were isolated from soil samples potentially contaminated with gasoline compounds either at a construction site near a gas station in Fai Chi Kei, Macau SAR or in the northern parts of China (Beijing, and Hebei and Shandong). The effects of different concentrations of benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and three isomers (ortho-, meta-, and para-) of xylene (BTEX), total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH), and trichloroethylene (TCE), when they were present in mixtures, on the bio-removal efficiencies of microbial isolates were investigated, together with their interactions during the bio-removal process. When the isolates were tested for the BTEX (50-350 mg/L)/TPH (2000 mg/L) mixture, BTEoX in BTEoX/TPH mixture was shown with higher bio-removal efficiencies, while BTEmX in BTEmX/TPH mixture was shown with the lowest, regardless of isolates. The TPH in BTEmX/TPH mixture, on the other hand, were generally shown with higher bio-removal efficiencies compared to when TPH mixed with BTEoX and BTEpX. When these BTEX mixtures (at 350 mg/L) were present with TCE (5-50 mg/L), the stimulatory effect of TCE toward BTEoX bio-removal was observed for BTEoX/TCE mixture, while the inhibitory effect of TCE toward BTEmX for BTEmX/TCE mixture. The bio-removal efficiency for TPH was shown lower in TPH (2000 mg/L)/TCE (5-50 mg/L) mixtures compared to TPH present alone, implying the inhibitory effect of TCE toward TPH bio-removal. For the mixture of BTEX (417 mg/L), TPH (2000 mg/L) along with TCE (5-50 mg/L), TCE was shown co-metabolically removed more efficiently at 15 mg/L, probably utilizing BTEX and/or TPH as primary substrates.

Seasonal and spatial characteristics of seawater and sediment at Youngil Bay, southeast coast of Korea.

The seasonal geochemical characteristics of the seawater and sediments and the major factors causing heavy metal contamination were investigated at the Youngil bay and the Hyungsan river estuary in the Southeast Coast of Korea, where a world-scale steel-industry complex (Pohang iron and steel industrial complex, POSCO) is located. The seasonal and spatial distribution characteristics of temperature, dissolved oxygen (DO), pH, and nutrients of the seawater were studied at 45 fixed stations, especially focusing on the river mouth area. Sediments at 27 stations were examined during winter and summer to determine the major controlling factors for the distribution of metals, using correlation matrix and R-mode factor analyses, and to evaluate the pollution status, using the modified geoaccumulation (I(geo)(')) index. Temperatures for the effluent from the POSCO located at the Hyungsan river mouth were 2-3 degrees C higher compared to other sampling areas, due to the thermal discharge from the POSCO. The DO concentration of the surface water at the Pohang old port was as low as 2-4 mg/L. In spring, the DO value at the Hyungsan river mouth was higher than 12 mg/L, by the mass multiplication of phytoplanktons at the river mouth where seawater temperature and nutrients concentrations were relatively high, resulting in the pH value of higher than 8.3. The nitrogen to phosphorus (N/P) ratios at the river mouth were 20-150 times higher compared to other areas, implying that the nitrogen loading into this semi-enclosed bay is significantly higher than phosphorus and the major nitrogen sources are not only the domestic sewage from the city but the industrial wastewater from the POSCO and other steel factories nearby. The phosphorus concentrations at the Pohang old port were shown 3-10 times higher than those at other stations, due to the inflow of pollutants generated from the nearby ships anchoring and the release of phosphate from the bottom sediment. Results from the sediment analysis showed that the major controlling factors for the distribution pattern of each metal are grain size and organic carbon (C(org)) content. Based on the factor analysis, Al, Fe, Cr, Li, and Pb were shown strongly correlated with the mean grain size (Mz), whereas Cd, Cu, Zn, and Sn with the C(org) content. Results from the fractionation of the sedimentary metals into lattice and labile fractions to characterize the mobility of sediment metals showed that the mineral lattice fraction was high in the order of Al=K>Cr>Li>Sr>Fe, while the labile fraction, which might be released to the overlying water, was in the order of Pb>Zn>Cd>Cu>Ca>Sn. Evaluation of the sediment pollution status by applying (I(geo)(')) of 13 metals showed Cd, Cu, and Zn as high as 1-3 range at the old port. Even though the overall marine pollution mainly by the world-class steel industrial complex in this semi-enclosed bay area studied does not currently pose a serious threat, due to the seawater circulation and the large influx of river discharge, the countermeasures to implement the sediments concentrated with heavy metals, especially at the old port with no seawater circulation, are still warranted for this coastal water environment.