Jinju Geng

Uptake and Accumulation of Polystyrene Microplastics in Zebrafish (Danio rerio) and Toxic Effects in Liver

Microplastics have become emerging contaminants, causing widespread concern about their potential toxic effects. In this study, the uptake and tissue accumulation of polystyrene microplastics (PS-MPs) in zebrafish were detected, and the toxic effects in liver were investigated. The results showed that after 7 days of exposure, 5 μm diameter MPs accumulated in fish gills, liver, and gut, while 20 μm diameter MPs accumulated only in fish gills and gut. Histopathological analysis showed that both 5 μm and 70 nm PS-MPs caused inflammation and lipid accumulation in fish liver. PS-MPs also induced significantly increased activities of superoxide dismutase and catalase, indicating that oxidative stress was induced after treatment with MPs. In addition, metabolomic analysis suggested that exposure to MPs induced alterations of metabolic profiles in fish liver and disturbed the lipid and energy metabolism. These findings provide new insights into the toxic effects of MPs on fish.

Adsorption of tetracycline onto goethite in the presence of metal cations and humic substances

Adsorption of tetracycline, one of the most widely used antibiotics, onto goethite was studied as a function of pH, metal cations, and humic acid (HA) over a pH range 3-10. Five background electrolyte cations (Li(+), Na(+), K(+), Ca(2+), and Mg(2+)) with a concentration of 0.01 M showed little effect on the tetracycline adsorption at the studied pH range. While the divalent heavy metal cation, Cu(2+), could significantly enhance the adsorption and higher concentration of Cu(2+), stronger adsorption was found. The results indicated that different adsorption mechanisms might be involved for the two types of cations. Background electrolyte cations hardly interfere with the interaction between tetracycline and goethite surfaces because they only form weak outer-sphere surface complexes. On the contrary, Cu(2+) could enhance the adsorption via acting as a bridge ion to form goethite-Cu(2+)-tetracycline surface complex because Cu(2+) could form strong and specific inner-sphere surface complexes. HA showed different effect on the tetracycline sorption under different pH condition. The presence of HA increased tetracycline sorption dramatically under acidic condition. Results indicated that heavy metal cations and soil organic matters have great effects on the tetracycline mobility in the soil environment and eventually affect its exposure concentration and toxicity to organisms.

Physicochemical characteristics and microbial community evolution of biofilms during the start-up period in a moving bed biofilm reactor

This study aimed to investigate biofilm properties evolution coupled with different ages during the start-up period in a moving bed biofilm reactor system. Physicochemical characteristics including adhesion force, extracellular polymeric substances (EPS), morphology as well as volatile solid and microbial community were studied. Results showed that the formation and development of biofilms exhibited four stages, including (I) initial attachment and young biofilm formation, (II) biofilms accumulation, (III) biofilm sloughing and updating, and (IV) biofilm maturation. During the whole start-up period, adhesion force was positively and significantly correlated with the contents of EPS, especially the content of polysaccharide. In addition, increased adhesion force and EPS were beneficial for biofilm retention. Gram-negative bacteria mainly including Sphaerotilus, Zoogloea and Haliscomenobacter were predominant in the initial stage. Actinobacteria was beneficial to resist sloughing. Furthermore, filamentous bacteria were dominant in maturation biofilm.

Inactivation of antibiotic resistance genes in municipal wastewater effluent by chlorination and sequential UV/chlorination disinfection.

This study investigated disinfection methods including chlorination, ultraviolet (UV) irradiation and sequential UV/chlorination treatment on the inactivation of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs). ARGs including sul1, tetX, tetG, intI1, and 16S rRNA genes in municipal wastewater treatment plant (MWTP) effluent were examined. The results indicated a positive correlation between the removal of ARGs and chlorine dosage (p=0.007-0.014, n=6),as well as contact time (p=0.0001, n=10). Greater free chlorine (FC) dosage leads to higher removal for all the genes and the maximum removal (1.30-1.49 logs) could be achieved at FC dosage of 30 mg L(-1). The transformation kinetic data for ARGs removal (log C0/C) followed the second-order reaction kinetic model with FC dosage (R(2)=0.6829-0.9999) and contact time (R(2)=0.7353-8634), respectively. Higher ammonia nitrogen (NH3-N) concentration was found to lead to lower removal of ARGs at the same chlorine dosage. When the applied Cl2:NH3-N ratio was over 7.6:1, a significant reduction of ARGs (1.20-1.49 logs) was achieved. By using single UV irradiation, the log removal values of tetX and 16Ss rRNA genes were 0.58 and 0.60, respectively, while other genes were 0.36-0.40 at a fluence of 249.5 mJ cm(-2), which was observed to be less effective than chlorination. With sequential UV/chlorination treatment, 0.006 to 0.31 log synergy values of target genes were observed under different operation parameters.

Struvite pyrolysate recycling combined with dry pyrolysis for ammonium removal from wastewater.

The dry pyrolysis of magnesium ammonium phosphate (MAP) with NaOH powder for ammonium release was investigated, as well as the utility of MAP pyrolysate recycling. The identities of the MAP pyrolysate and its derivatives were experimentally validated. The results showed that the pyrolysate was amorphous magnesium hydrogen phosphate (MgHPO4) and magnesium pyrophosphate (Mg2P2O7). The best molar ratio of sodium hydroxide (NaOH) powder to ammonium was 1:1, at 110°C for 3h. The optimum pH for pyrolysate recycling was 9.5. The ammonia removal ratio could be maintained above 80% with MAP pyrolysate recycling. Seed crystal inoculation increased the rate of MAP crystallization by 20.86%, as well as the MAP grain size (2.08nm with seeding versus 1.72nm without). MAP particle size with NaOH treatment decreased: d(0.5)=19.34μm versus d(0.5)=30.35μm for direct pyrolysis. The results demonstrated that crystal growth was controlled by adding NaOH during MAP pyrolysis.

Effect of carriers on sludge characteristics and mitigation of membrane fouling in attached-growth membrane bioreactor.

This study aims to investigate the effect of carriers on membrane fouling. Three sets of submerged membrane bioreactors (MBRs), including one suspended-growth MBR, called SMBR, and two attached-growth MBRs (one called AMBR, and another with baffles called AMBRb) were operated at various media volume fractions. The results indicated that the membrane-fouling rates of AMBR and AMBRb were lower than that of SMBR. Moreover, the operation times of AMBR and AMBRb were 4.2 and 3.5 times longer, respectively, than that of SMBR at an optimum media volume fraction of 30%. The biochemical effects of carriers on sludge suspension significantly affected membrane fouling, unlike the physical effects of carriers. Further studies on sludge characteristics indicated that particle size, soluble microbial product (SMP), sludge volume index (SVI) and filament index (FI) did not remarkably affect membrane fouling, whereas the protein in bound EPS primarily contributed to membrane fouling.

Phosphite in Sedimentary Interstitial Water of Lake Taihu, a Large Eutrophic Shallow Lake in China

The seasonal occurrence and distribution of phosphite (HPO3(2-), P) in sedimentary interstitial water from Lake Taihu was monitored from 2011 to 2012 to better understand its possible link to P cycle in the eutrophic shallow lake. Phosphite concentrations ranged from < MDL to 14.32 ± 0.19 μg P/kg with a mean concentration of 1.58 ± 0.33 μg P/kg, which accounts for 5.51% total soluble P (TSP(s)) in surficial sediments (0-20 cm). Spatially, the concentrations of sedimentary phosphite in the lakes northern areas were relatively higher than those in the southern areas. Higher phosphite concentrations were always observed in seriously polluted sites. Generally, phosphite in the deeper layers (20-40 cm and 40-60 cm) showed minor fluctuations compared to that in the surficial sediments, which may be associated with the frequent exchange at the sediment-water interface. Phosphite concentrations in surficial or core sediments decreased as spring > autumn > summer > winter. Higher phosphite levels occurred in the areas with lower redox (Eh), higher P contents, and particularly when metal bonded with P to form Al-P(s) and Ca-P(s). Phosphite may be an important media in the P biogeochemical cycle in Lake Taihu and contribute to its internal P transportation.

Determination of phosphite in a eutrophic freshwater lake by suppressed conductivity ion chromatography.

The establishment of a sensitive and specific method for the detection of reduced phosphorus (P) is crucial for understanding P cycle. This paper presents the quantitative evidence of phosphite (P, +3) from the freshwater matrix correspondent to the typically eutrophic Lake Taihu in China. By ion chromatography coupled with gradient elution procedure, efficient separation of micromolar levels of phosphite is possible in the presence of millimolar levels of interfering ions, such as chloride, sulfate, and hydrogen carbonate in freshwater lakes. Optimal suppressed ion chromatography conditions include the use of 500 μL injection volumes and an AS11 HC analytical column heated to 30 °C. The method detection limit of 0.002 μM for phosphite was successfully applied for phosphite determination in natural water samples with recoveries ranging from 90.7 ± 3.2% to 108 ± 1.5%. Phosphite in the freshwater matrix was also verified using a two-dimensional capillary ion chromatography and ion chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry. Results confirmed the presence of phosphite in Lake Taihu ranging from 0.01 ± 0.01 to 0.17 ± 0.01 μM, which correlated to 1-10% of the phosphate. Phosphite is an important component of P and may influence biogeochemical P cycle in lakes.

Reduction of antibiotic resistance genes in municipal wastewater effluent by advanced oxidation processes

This study investigated the reduction of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs), intI1 and 16S rRNA genes, by advanced oxidation processes (AOPs), namely Fenton oxidation (Fe(2+)/H2O2) and UV/H2O2 process. The ARGs include sul1, tetX, and tetG from municipal wastewater effluent. The results indicated that the Fenton oxidation and UV/H2O2 process could reduce selected ARGs effectively. Oxidation by the Fenton process was slightly better than that of the UV/H2O2 method. Particularly, for the Fenton oxidation, under the optimal condition wherein Fe(2+)/H2O2 had a molar ratio of 0.1 and a H2O2 concentration of 0.01molL(-1) with a pH of 3.0 and reaction time of 2h, 2.58-3.79 logs of target genes were removed. Under the initial effluent pH condition (pH=7.0), the removal was 2.26-3.35 logs. For the UV/H2O2 process, when the pH was 3.5 with a H2O2 concentration of 0.01molL(-1) accompanied by 30min of UV irradiation, all ARGs could achieve a reduction of 2.8-3.5 logs, and 1.55-2.32 logs at a pH of 7.0. The Fenton oxidation and UV/H2O2 process followed the first-order reaction kinetic model. The removal of target genes was affected by many parameters, including initial Fe(2+)/H2O2 molar ratios, H2O2 concentration, solution pH, and reaction time. Among these factors, reagent concentrations and pH values are the most important factors during AOPs.

Aging biofilm from a full-scale moving bed biofilm reactor: Characterization and enzymatic treatment study

Effective removal of aging biofilm deserves to receive more attention. This study aimed to characterized aging biofilm from a full-scale moving bed biofilm reactor treating pharmaceutical wastewater and evaluate the hydrolysis effects of biofilm by different enzymatic treatments. Results from FTIR and biochemical composition analyses showed that it was a predominately organic-based biofilm with the ratio of total protein (PN) to polysaccharide (PS) of 20.17. A reticular structure of extracellular polymeric matrix (EPM) with filamentous bacteria as the skeleton was observed on the basal layer through SEM-EDS test. Among the four commercial proteases and amylases from Genencor®, proteases were shown to have better performances than amylases either on the removal of MLSS and PN/MLSS or on DOC (i.e., dissolved organic carbon)/MLSS raising of biofilm pellets. Difference of dynamic fluorescence characteristics of dissolved organic matters after treated by the two proteases indicated distinguishing mechanisms of the treating process.