Express Assessment of Water Toxicity Based on Bioassaying: Case Study of Surface-Water Bodies in St. Petersburg

A system of efficient on-line monitoring of the state of water in surface water bodies is developed. The expediency of using new general-purpose bioassays for the integral express evaluation of the natural-water toxic impact on living organisms is substantiated. Fundamentally new methods of bioassaying with gasteropoda from special laboratory cultures (“PRM-TESTS”) used as test organisms are presented. The results of complex hydrochemical and biological (toxicological) investigations with PRM-TESTS as applied to water bodies in St. Petersburg are discussed.__________Translated from Vodnye Resursy, Vol. 32, No. 4, 2005, pp. 425–434.Original Russian Text Copyright © 2005 by Kurilenko, Zaitseva.     

Luminescent Spectroscopy in Determining Oil Product Accumulation in Epishura and Bioassaying of Pollution

Luminescent spectroscopy techniques are used to study the accumulation of oil and diesel fuel in fatty inclusions in the organisms of Epishura baicalensis Sars during their incubation in water containing oil products. The role of nutrition in the accumulation and elimination of oil products is studied. It is shown that the intense luminescence of fatty inclusions in the Copepoda organisms can be used for bioassaying oil pollution.     

Impurity effect on clear water evaporation: toward modelling wastewater evaporation using ANN,ANFIS-SC and GEP techniques

The growing shortage of freshwater resources and increasing environmental awareness give rise to the use of treated wastewater as an alternative resource for water supply. Accurate estimation of wastewater evaporation (WWE), as the main cause of water losses, is necessary for proper water resources management. Unfortunately, few studies have focused on modelling WWE despite its vital importance. This study investigates the ability of gene expression programming (GEP), adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) and artificial neural networks (ANN) techniques to estimate WWE as a function of variables including wastewater properties, clear water evaporation and climatic factors. The study uses measured data from an experiment conducted in Neishaboor municipal wastewater treatment plant, Iran. Results indicate that the ANN model is superior among the three methods, and also demonstrates higher accuracy when compared with those of a dimensional analysis model using the F-test statistic.     

Ecotoxicological assessment of Inya R. Water and the Belovskoe Reservoir, Kemerovo Province

The results of toxicological analysis of water of the Inya R. and the Belovskoe Reservoir (the cooling pond of the Belovskaya SDPP), obtained in 2001, 2002, and 2008 by bioassaying methods are given. The test objects used in the study included photobacteria (Photobacterium phosphoreum), two types of protococcus algae (Chlorella vulgaris Beijer, Scenedesmus quadricauda (Turp.) Breb.) and two types of entomostracans (Daphnia magna Straus, Ceriodaphnia affinis Lillijeborg). The distribution of water toxicity in the Belovskoe Reservoir and the Inya River, flowing into it, was found to be heterogeneous in both time and space in terms of the response of test objects. The most and least polluted zones in the reservoir and the river are identified, and water quality is estimated. The water of the Inya R. and the Belovskoe Reservoir showed more pronounced effect on the chlorella and ceryodaphnia than on scenedesmus and daphnia.     

Multifaceted Role of Microalgae for Municipal Wastewater Treatment: A Futuristic Outlook toward Wastewater Management

Municipal wastewater (MWW) or urban wastewater (UWW) is generated by the domestic consumption of freshwater, which contains a huge amount of nutrients. The release of unprocessed wastewater causes eutrophication and harms aquatic life. Moreover, ingestion of polluted MWW causes a severe negative impact on human health. Microalgae are unicellular, eukaryotic photosynthetic organisms and have the capability of nutrient assimilation in the presence of light. Moreover, the produced biomass can be used for the generation of value-added bioproducts such as bioenergy. However, conventional microalgae-based MWW treatment is not as sustainable on a commercial scale. Therefore, more advanced approaches using microalgae need to be integrated in wastewater cultivation systems to improve nutrient removal efficiency. Thus, the present review explores the use of microalgae for the removal of nutrients from MWW, provides an outlook of direct and indirect methods of nutrient uptake from wastewater and the effects of the influencing factors in biomass growth. Moreover, the review also gives insight into recent approaches used for MWW treatment and the applications of algal biomass resulting from treated wastewater. It is predicted that microalgae-based MWW treatment systems will be a significant green approach to help eliminate nutrient loads and implement circular economy.     

Anwendung von biologischen Testverfahren an Abwässern der Textilindustrie

Testing Effluents of the Textile Refining Industry with Biological Methods The environmental problems caused by the manufacture of finished textiles involve a long chain of individual processes. This “textile chain” includes very diverse enterprises of varied size and structure. The textile refiners occupy a key position in the “textile chain”. On the one hand, this is due to their use of an obscurely large number of chemicals which can end up in the wastewater as well as in the textile products. On the other hand, this key role of the textile refining industry is based on their central position between the preproduction stage and the consumers. This study dealt with the textile refining industry's wastewater. As measured by volume and contents of its wastewater, this industry can be counted among the major industrial plants which discharge into municipal wastewater treatment plants. German wastewater legislation includes the provision that substances which are toxic, persistent, capable of accumulating, carcinogenic, fetotoxic or mutagenic be kept out of natural waters as well as technically possible (Wasserhaushaltsgesetz WHG). Several biotest methods for examining the effect of the substances contained in the wastewater were incorporated into the appendix of the German wastewater regulation (Rahmenabwasser-Verwaltungsvorschrift based on § 7a WHG). The aim of this study was to show, with the aid of biotest methods, how strongly the wastewater of textile refining companies is polluted as compared to other known industrial branches and to what degree the pollution of these wastewaters is eliminated by the treatment in wastewater treatment plants. Finally, we experimented to find out which biotest methods were suited for the examination of these wastewaters. The study's results show that the ecotoxicity of the textile refining industry's wastewater was only extraordinary high in isolated cases as compared to other examined branches of industry. The textile wastewaters exhibit values of G_L = 3 to G_L = 96 in the luminescent bacteria test, G_D = 1 to G_D = 192 (with one exception of G_D > 30000) in the daphnia test and G_F < = 2 to G_F = 32 in the fish test. It turned out though, that a large number of the samples from the textile refining companies (27%) reacted mutagenically in the Ames test in their native state. Consecutive tests for chromosomal aberrations (V79 hamster cell test) also showed mutagenic potential in five out of nine native samples. The employed testing methods with fish, daphnia and luminescent bacteria demonstrate a higher sensitivity of the luminescent bacteria and/or the daphnia as opposed to the fish in most cases. As the fish test is controversial anyway on the grounds of animal protection, a replacement of the fish test by these other tests should be aimed at: on account of the different end points of the luminescent bacteria and the daphnia test, a combination of these tests appears most sensible.     

Affordable Enteric Virus Detection Techniques Are Needed to Support Changing Paradigms in Water Quality Management

In light of water quality monitoring paradigms shifting to a more holistic approach, it is essential that environmental microbiologists embrace new methodological developments in clinical virology to create rapid, laboratory‐free methods for the identification of wastewater pollution. It is widely accepted that routine monitoring of fecal indicator bacteria (FIB) does not adequately reflect human health risks associated with fecal pollution, especially risks posed by viruses. Enteric viruses are typically more resistant to wastewater treatment and persist longer in the environment than FIB. Furthermore, enteric viruses often have extremely low infectious doses. Currently, the incorporation of sanitary surveys, short‐term monitoring of reference pathogens, exploratory quantitative microbial risk assessments, and predictive ecological models is being championed as the preferred approach to water management. In addition to improved virus concentration methods, simple, point‐of‐use tests for enteric viruses and/or improved viral indicators are needed to complement this emerging paradigm and ensure microbial safety worldwide.

     

Study of Metal Distribution in Raw and Screened Swine Manure

The growth of industrial swine production over the last few years has led to a growth in concern over effluents generated by the activity. Several elements, mainly toxic metals, can be present in swine wastewater and can have a serious environmental impact. It is important, therefore, to know the metal concentration before the discharge of wastewater. In this work the temporal metal distribution in swine manure and its potential reduction using coarse (2 mm) and fine (<0.45 μm) liquid‐solid separation techniques were investigated. In order to do this, different swine manure sample preparation methods for Al, Ba, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mg, Mn, Ni, Pb, Sr and Zn determination by Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectrometry (ICP OES) were tested. The acid mixtures used to digest the manure sample significantly affected the metal recovery. Good analyte recoveries were observed with nitric acid/hydrogen peroxide mixtures or nitric acid/perchloric acid mixtures. Sulfuric acid/hydrogen peroxide mixtures produced inconsistent results and poor recoveries, mainly for Ba and Pb. It was observed that metal concentrations in swine manure varied greatly with time, up to one order of magnitude, due to changes in swine production such as feed and animal numbers. Metals concentrations observed in the raw wastewater exceeded Brazilian limits for discharge into water bodies and recommendations for agricultural use. Results obtained from the liquid‐solid separation study showed that metals in the raw swine manure were not removed with coarse screening. However, the major fraction of metals were removed by filtration (0.45 μm), with the exception of Na, K and Sr. Thus, the use of liquid‐solid separation techniques that capture the fine solid fractions (and associated metals) from raw manure can have a favorable impact on the environment and contribute to swine production wastewater treatment.     

Is the upgrading of wastewater treatment facilities to meet more stringent standards economically justified: The case of Israel

The global use of wastewater for irrigation in agriculture is increasing, as are the requirements for more stringent wastewater treatment standards, to prevent environmental and health risks. The aim of this paper is to display a cost-benefit analysis of introducing more stringent standards for wastewater treatment in Israel, and to examine whether upgrading the wastewater treatment facilities is economically justified. The findings indicate that the introduction of the stringent standards as well as upgrading the treatment facilities are economically justified.     

Magnetically Separable Water Treatment Technologies and their Role in Future Advanced Water Treatment: A Patent Review

Magnetic separation has been recognized as an important property for the simple deployment of micro and sub‐microparticles into solution in the field of water treatment. Many materials with desirable properties for water decontamination are hindered due to the difficulty inherent in removing them from solution post‐treatment. By securing these materials to magnetic compounds, this important issue can be solved as removing active materials from wastewater requires only the application of a magnetic field. This review article presents and discusses many recent technologies, in the form of patents, which exploit the property of magnetic separation for advanced water treatment, including methods of adsorbing pollutants from wastewater and magnetically separating them, as well as methods of deploying active materials for the degradation of contaminants, then magnetically retrieving these catalysts. The requirement for advanced wastewater treatment methods becomes more essential as new, persistent contaminants arise as a result of pharmaceuticals, pesticides and industrial processes which cannot be addressed by traditional water treatment procedures. Magnetic separation promises to be a critical factor in these advanced methods, allowing the safe deployment of active materials which would otherwise be unusable, opening the gate to more efficient, economic and environmentally friendly water purification.     

Belastung von Krankenhausabwasser mit gefährlichen Stoffen im Sinne § 7a WHG

Contamination of Hospital Wastewater with Hazardous Compounds as Defined by § 7a WHG In total, 45 samples of hospital wastewater obtained from different origins (total wastewater, nursing, and laboratories) were investigated using chemical analyses as well as biological testing methods. In parallel, the consumption of several product groups relevant to the wastewater has been calculated. The water consumption strongly influenced the quality of the corresponding wastewater. Most of the values of the chemical parameters determined were found within a range as would have been expected for municipal wastewater. The AOX concentrations were distinctly elevated (0.41 mg/L in total wastewater and 0.95 mg/L in nursing wastewater). As could be shown by the calculated consumption of different compounds, the iodoferous X-ray contrast media represented a predominant proportion of the total AOX load of the clinical wastewaters tested. The values of some of the total wastewater samples and the laboratory wastewater samples showed a high toxicity as determined using the daphnia and luminescent bacteria tests. Using Ames and hamster cell tests, 5 out of 23 samples in the clinical area and 7 out of 9 samples from the laboratories turned out to be mutagenic. The origin of this mutagenic potential could not be determined though.     

Algal Cultivation for Treating Wastewater in African Developing Countries: A Review

The tremendous increase in human population and rapid decline in freshwater resources have necessitated the development of innovative and sustainable wastewater treatment methods. Africa as a developing continent is currently backing on sustainable solutions to tackle impending water resource crisis brought forward by wastewater‐induced environmental pollution and climate change. Microalgae‐based wastewater treatment systems represent an emerging technology that is capable of meeting the new demand for improved wastewater treatment and climate change mitigation strategies in an environmentally friendly manner. This review critically looks at the opportunities of Africa in harnessing and exploiting the potential of microalgae for the treatment of various wastewaters based on their capacity to recycle nutrients and for concurrent production of valuable biomass and several useful metabolites. Wastewaters, if improperly/completely untreated and discharged, simultaneously pollute freshwater sources and present significant health and environmental risks. Nutrients in wastewater can be utilized and recovered in the form of marketable biomass and products when integrated with the cultivation of microalgae. Several valuable bioproducts can be generated from wastewater‐grown microalgal biomass including biofuels, biofertilizers, animal feed, and various bioactive compounds. This biorefinery approach would most certainly improve wastewater treatment process economics, enhancing the technical feasibility of algae‐based wastewater remediation in African countries.     

Statistical methods as indicator of offset printing wastewater quality

This study presents the application of different chemometric approaches on the dataset obtained during the monitoring of offset printing wastewater quality in Pozarevac, Serbia. Collecting of wastewaters was performed during a working week, five working days, in five offset printing facilities. Twenty five physico-chemical parameters were analyzed in wastewaters using the standard analytical and instrumental methods. The obtained dataset were subjected to cluster analysis and principal component analysis. Cluster analysis showed four groups of similarity between the printing facilities reflecting the different physico-chemical characteristics and pollution levels of studied wastewaters. Principal component analysis identified two principal components responsible for the data structure explaining 86 % of total variance of offset printing wastewaters. The obtained principal components indicate the parameters that are the most responsible for variation of offset printing wastewaters. This study clearly demonstrates the usefulness of chemometric methods in analysis of printing wastewater quality, identification of the main sources and understanding of spatial variations in wastewater quality. Also, it could be useful for the selection of an appropriate wastewater treatment plant.     

Analysis of the effect of megalopolises on water quality in surface water bodies by ecological-toxicological characteristics

Data of long-term observations of Roshydromet and the studies of the authors’ studies of hydrochemical, hydrobiological, and bioassaying characteristics and appropriate publications in the areas of megalopolises—the cities of Rostov-on-Don and Novosibirsk are analyzed. Similar and distinctive characteristics of water quality by these ecological-toxicological characteristics are identified; trends in the long-term year-to-year variations in water quality are established, criteria and characteristics reflecting the effect of cities on water bodies in their territory are determined. The identity of some chemical-toxicological criteria and the characteristics of the influence of cities in southern Russia and Siberia on water bodies suggest that they can also be used in urban area in other regions. The Lower Don is used as an example to show that water pollution by metals is mostly due to wastewater discharge, while water pollution by petroleum products and sulfates has no direct relation to that.     

Intensification of Biological Afterpurification of Municipal Wastewater by Some Pleistophyte Species

The use of semiaquatic plants (Pistia stratiotes and frogbit) for afterpurification of domestic wastewater is shown to improve water quality. Planting pleistophytes in watercourses and biological ponds, into which pretreated wastewater is discharged, is especially efficient in summer and autumn, when the load on treatment facilities increases.     

Application of UV Spectrophotometry to the Study of Treated Wastewater Discharges in Rivers

Ultra-violet Spectrophotometry has been used for qualitative and quantitative analysis of water and wastewater in conjunction with appropriate signals and a deconvolution method. Application of this procedure with the use of a portable UV spectrophotometer was carried out to study treated wastewater discharge into a river. The data obtained were used to estimate dilution factors of polluted waters at different points of sampling. This simple and rapid methodology can be easily transposed with any PC-controlled UV spectrophotometer including a multicomponent routine.     

The Potential Use of Bali Wastewater for Crop Production Based on Moscow Region Experience

The article offers a new approach to the selection of a treatment plant, based on the optimization of biogeochemical matter flows. The existing treatment facilities of Bali are analyzed. The authors propose several process schemes for domestic wastewater treatment, depending on the technology of utilization of biogenic elements from the wastewater for agricultural production. These are based on water treatment technologies that have been in use in Moscow for more than 100 years.     

Toxicity-directed Fractionation of Tannery Wastewater Using Solid-phase Extraction and Luminescence Inhibition in Microtiter Plates

A four-step solid-phase extraction (SPE) method is presented for toxicity-directed fractionation of industrial wastewater. This fractionation procedure serves as a key step for identifying unknown organic toxicants in complex samples. Toxicity was determined as luminescence inhibition of Vibrio fischeri using microtiter plates. This method was compared to standard tests in glass cuvettes using both 37 standard chemicals and 24 wastewater fractions with EC₅₀ values covering five orders of magnitude. Results of both methods correlated well. 22 tannery wastewater samples were sequentially extracted using C₁₈e and polystyrene-divinylbenzene phases in combination with pH-changes. Final solid-phase filtrates showed low inhibition, so toxicity of inorganics could be neglected. Using 1/EC₅₀ values, the SPE eluates showed clearly different toxicity patterns. Even in eluates of the fourth extraction step, high toxic effects could be observed. In several cases, luminescence inhibition was increasing at the anaerobic treatment step compared to the corresponding untreated samples. After aerobic treatment, toxicity of most wastewater fractions was greatly diminished. HPLC/DAD analyses of the wastewater fractions showed a fair separation concerning compound polarity. However, the samples were still too complex to identify single compounds responsible for the detected toxicity. Therefore, a further clean-up step accompanied with toxicity testing is needed.