A review on hazards and treatment methods of released antibiotics in hospitals wastewater during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Drugs and related goods are widely used in order to promote public health and the quality of life. One of the most serious environmental challenges affecting public health is the ongoing presence of antibiotics in the effluents generated by pharmaceutical industries and hospitals. Antibiotics cannot be entirely removed from wastewater using the traditional wastewater treatment methods. Unmetabolized antibiotics generated by humans can be found in urban and livestock effluent. The antibiotic present in effluent contributes to issues with resistance to antibiotics and the creation of superbugs. Over the recent 2 years, the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic has substantially boosted hospital waste volume. In this situation, a detailed literature review was conducted to highlight the harmful effects of untreated hospital waste and outline the best approaches to manage it. Approximately 50 to 70% of the emerging contaminants prevalent in the hospital wastewater can be removed using traditional treatment strategies. This paper emphasizes the numerous treatment approaches for effectively eliminating emerging contaminants and antibiotics from hospital wastewater and provides an overview of global hospital wastewater legislation and guidelines on hospital wastewater administration. Around 90% of ECs might be eliminated by biological or physical treatment techniques when used in conjunction with modern oxidation techniques. According to this research, hybrid methods are the best approach for removing antibiotics and ECs from hospital wastewater. The document outlines the many features of effective hospital waste management and might be helpful during and after the coronavirus disease 2019 outbreak, when waste creation on all hospitals throughout the globe has considerably increased.

Multi-criteria decision-making for prioritizing photocatalytic processes followed by TiO2-MIL-53(Fe) characterization and application for diazinon removal.

Multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) can introduce the best option based on evidence. We integrated the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and the Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to the Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) to prioritize the alternatives for photocatalytic diazinon removal in a bench scale and characterized TiO2-MIL-53(Fe) for this purpose. Criteria and alternatives were listed based on systematic literature reviews and expert opinions. Then, AHP and TOPSIS questionnaires were developed and distributed to an expert panel for pairwise comparisons. We converted the linguistic variables into the corresponding fuzzy values and used R for mathematical calculations. Then, TiO2-MIL-53(Fe) was synthesized and characterized for diazinon removal under LED visible light. The AHP ranked criteria as availability > degradation efficiency > safety for the environment > material cost > energy consumption > mineralization efficiency > photocatalyst reusability > safety for personnel > equipment cost. Based on TOPSIS, the order of alternatives was TiO2-containing/Visible light > ZnO-containing/UV light > TiO2-containing/UV light > ZnO-containing/Visible light > WO3-containing/UV light. With a bandgap of 1.8 eV, TiO2-MIL-53(Fe) could remove 89.35% of diazinon at 10 mg/L diazinon concentration, 750 mg/L catalyst dose, pH 6.8, and 180-min reaction time. Hybrid AHP-TOPSIS identified the best option for photocatalytic diazinon removal from aqueous solutions. Thus, MCDM techniques can use systematic review results to overcome the uncertainty in designing experimental studies.

Photocatalytic removal of diazinon from aqueous solutions: a quantitative systematic review.

Diazinon is a widely used pesticide that can be effectively degraded in aqueous solutions via photocatalytic oxidation. This quantitative systematic review was conducted to shed light on the various aspects of photocatalytic diazinon removal based on evidence. A systematic search was performed in Scopus, PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, and Ovid databases with keywords including diazinon, photocatalysis, and their equivalents. The search was limited to original articles in English published between January 1, 2010, and March 25, 2021. The results were expressed by descriptive statistics including mean, SD, median, and percentiles, among others. The initial electronic and manual search retrieved 777 articles, among which 41 studies comprising 49 trials were qualified for data synthesis. The reported diazinon degradation rate ranged from 2 to 100%, with a mean ± SD of 59.17 ± 28.03%. Besides, ZnO/UV, WO3/UV, TiO2/UV, and TiO2/Vis, in sequence, were the most widely used processes with the highest efficacies. Solution pH in the range of 5-8, catalyst dose below 600 mg/L, diazinon initial concentration below 40 mg/L, and contact time of 20-140 min could be the optimum conditions. Diazinon degradation obeyed the first-order kinetic model with kobs between 0.0042 and 1.86 min-1 and consumed energy of 38.93-350.36 kWh/m3. Diazoxon and IMP were the most detected by-products of diazinon degradation although bioassay data were scarce. Based on the results, photocatalytic processes are very efficient in removing diazinon from aqueous solutions although more elaborate studies are needed to assess the mineralization rate and effluent toxicity.

Evaluating the performance of coupled MFC-MEC with graphite felt/MWCNTs polyscale electrode in landfill leachate treatment, and bioelectricity and biogas production.

PURPOSE: A bioelectricity producing system was configured by connecting to a microbial electrolysis cell producing hydrogen, in which both systems were without mediator, to treatment the landfill leachate of the and generate bioelectricity and hydrogen. METHODS: The anode electrode was made with MWCNTs polyscale coating on graphite felt and the cathode electrode with activated carbon coating on carbon cloth. In the MFC-MEC coupled system, the electrodes were connected in series using copper wire. The system was set up in a fed-batch mode and the landfill synthetic leachate was injected into the anode MFC-MEC chamber as fuel. RESULTS: In MFC, the highest voltage, current density and power density were 1114 mV, 44.2A/m3 and 49.24 W/m3, respectively. The maximum of the coulombic efficiency system was 94.10%. The highest removed COD, NH4-N and P was 97.38%, 79.56% and 74.61%, respectively. In the MEC, the maximum of voltage input, current density and power density was 1106 mV, 43.88 A/m3and 48.54 W/m3, respectively. The maximum coulombic efficiency system was 125.54%. Also the highest removed COD, NH4-N and P was 97.46%, 78.81% and 76.25%, respectively. The highest biogas production rate and its yield were 39 mL/L.d, and 0.0118 L/g CODrem, respectively. CONCLUSION: This study found that the MFC-MEC coupled system had promising potential for strong wastewaters treatment, such as the leachate of landfill; and the in-site use of generated electricity and the production of useful fuels such as biogas.

A comparative study of the disinfection efficacy of H2O2/ferrate and UV/H2O2/ferrate processes on inactivation of Bacillus subtilis spores by response surface methodology for modeling and optimization.

Although chlorination can inactivate most of the microorganisms in water but protozoan parasites like C. parvum oocysts and Giardia cysts can resist against it. Therefore, many researches have been conducted to find a novel method for water disinfection. Present study evaluated the synergistic effect of H2O2 and ferrate followed by UV radiation to inactivate Bacillus subtilis spores as surrogate microorganisms. Response surface methodology(RSM) was employed for the optimization for UV/H2O2/ferrate and H2O2/ferrate processes. By using central composite design(CCD), the effect of three main parameters including time, hydrogen peroxide, and ferrate concentrations was examined on process performance. The results showed that the combination of UV, H2O2 and ferrate was the most effective disinfection process in compare with when H2O2 and ferrate were used. This study indicated that by UV/H2O2/ferrate, about 5.2 log reductions of B. subtilis spores was inactivated at 9299 mg/l of H2O2 and 0.4 mg/l of ferrate concentrations after 57 min of contact time which was the optimum condition, but H2O2/ferrate can inactivate B. subtilis spores about 4.7 logs compare to the other process. Therefore, the results of this research demonstrated that UV/H2O2 /ferrate process is a promising process for spore inactivation and water disinfection.

Subtype analysis of Giardia duodenalis isolates from municipal and domestic raw wastewaters in Iran.

A total of 54 raw wastewater samples collected from three urban treatment plants and two slaughterhouses in Tehran, Iran, were assessed for the presence of the Giardia cysts using immunofluorescence with monoclonal antibodies. To characterize the cysts at the molecular level, the three genetic loci were amplified and sequenced. The assemblages A (37.5 %) and E (58.3 %) were detected in livestock wastewater samples. Assemblage A, which is composed of only G. duodenalis genotype, was detected in 100 % of urban wastewater samples. The subassemblages A2, A3, A-I, A-II, and E3 were identified with ß-giardin, triose phosphate isomerase, and glutamate dehydrogenase genes. This study is the first to report on G. duodenalis genotypes in aquatic environmental samples in Iran.

Microscopic and Molecular Detection of Cryptosporidium andersoni and Cryptosporidium xiaoi in Wastewater Samples of Tehran Province, Iran.

BACKGROUND: As a waterborne pathogen, Cryptosporidium is one of the most common causes of gastroenteritis in human and hoofed livestock animals. This study aimed to investigate the distribution of Cryptosporidium spp. in human and livestock wastewaters in Iran, by the 18S rRNA sequence analysis. METHODS: A total of 54 raw wastewater samples collected from three urban treatment plants and two slaughterhouses during 2014-2015 in Tehran, Iran. The presence of the Cryptosporidium oocysts was assessed by immunofluorescence with monoclonal antibodies. To characterize the oocysts at the molecular level, the 18S rRNA gene of Cryptosporidium was PCR amplified and sequenced. RESULTS: Of the 54 wastewater samples examined, 34 (62.9%) were positive for Cryptosporidium oocysts using the IFA. Of these, 70.5% (24/34) were positive by PCR, that 91.6% (22/24) were successfully sequenced. The species of C. andersoni (95.4%) and C. xiaoi (4.6%) were detected in livestock wastewater samples. CONCLUSION: C. andersoni was the major Cryptosporidium sp. found in the aquatic environmental wastewater samples. The high rate of detection of C. andersoni in domestic wastewater was probably the result of the predominancy of this species in cattle herds in Iran. The current study is the first report of C. xiaoi in Iran.

Influence of bioaugmentation on biodegradation of phenanthrene-contaminated soil by earthworm in lab scale.

BACKGROUND: Use of earthworm to eliminate the phenanthrene from the soil (bioaccumulation) is developed as an economical method. Bioaugmentation of microorganism was used for promotion of bioaccumulation by earthworm. The aim of this study was to determine the bioaccumulation or biodegradation of phenanthrene by Eisenia fetida and bacterial consortium in polluted soil. METHODS: The amount of 0.4 kg of the polluted soil in the ratio of 10 and 30 mg phenanthrene per kg of dry soil was transferred into each pot. Afterwards, bacteria and earthworms were added to each pot in separate and combination. The samples were kept under field conditions, and the retention concentrations of phenanthrene were analyzed after 8 weeks. RESULTS: Results showed that the Eisenia fetida was able to significantly remove phenanthrene from the polluted soil samples. Bioaccumulation and bioaugmentation alone have the removal efficiency of 60.24% and 50.3%, respectively. In the combined mode, phenanthrene removal efficiency was 63.81%. CONCLUSIONS: The current study indicated that the use of earthworms, could improve both phenanthrene bioavailability and microbial activity, which led to enhancing removal of carbon-based pollutants.