Junxue Zhang, Lin Ma

Water • 2020

Due to excessive resource consumption and pressing environmental issues of the sewage treatment industry, there is extensive attention in China. Given the unique craft production process in the sewage treatment system, a series of integral emergy indicators have been used to evaluate the environmental sustainability based on infrastructure construction and operation stage emergy analysis. Taking a new typical sewage treatment plant as an example, this paper performed a case study. The results illustrate that (1) the infrastructure construction process emergy (approximate 92.6%) is more critical than sewage treatment process emergy; (2) nonrenewable resource is the primary factor for the emergy analysis, followed by energy (23.5%) and purchased supply (7%); (3) cement, steel, and gravel have dominant impacts on the nonrenewable resource emergy; (4) the emergy sustainability index is 0.001101, which displays weak environmental sustainability; (5) the unit emergy value (UEV) of the new sewage treatment plant is 3.40 × 1012 sej/m3; (6) sensitivity analysis results of the hypothesis demonstrate that nonrenewable resources have significant fluctuations (6.903%) while, for the indicators, emergy sustainability index (ESI) (4.8072%) has the most significant impact; and (7) wastewater is a major contributor. In light of comprehensive discussions, two positive measures are proposed in order to ameliorate the environmental sustainability.

Rui Zhang, Huawei Zheng, Hui Zhang et al.

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health • 2020

Rural domestic sewage treatment is not only an important part of the renovation of rural human settlements, but also a major measure to revitalize those areas. In the absence of extensive participation by farmers, it is difficult to achieve desired results. From the theoretical analysis of the influence of social capital on farmers’ participation, and based on the survey data of farmers in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, this study used a logistic model to analyze the influence of social capital and personal, family, and awareness characteristics of farmers on their participation levels. Social capital plays a significant role in promoting farmers’ participation, and the contribution of its core variables is in the following order: social norms > social trust > social networks. Among the control variables, the need for domestic sewage treatment, participation in environmental training, educational level, and participation in a village cadre significantly enhance farmers’ participation levels. Consequently, promotion of rural domestic sewage treatment should include improvement of farmers’ social trust, social norms, and social networks, to enhance social capital. Publicity and education should be reinforced, and environmental training should be carried out to improve farmers’ awareness and sense of responsibility, leading them to active participation.

Tae-Jin Park, Seung-Hyun Lee, Myung-Sung Lee et al.

Water • 2020

Microplastics are ubiquitously found in freshwater and marine environments worldwide. In particular, wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) or sewage treatment plants (STPs) have been recognized as a main source of microplastics in the receiving freshwater. However, only a few studies have been conducted to examine the impact of these facilities on receiving waters. In this study, we investigated the distribution of microplastics in surface water, fish, and sediment near a sewage treatment plant (STP) in the Tanchon stream, one of the main tributaries flowing into the Han River, Korea. The concentration of microplastics in water varied spatially and temporarily, ranging between 5.3 and 87.3 particles/m3 (31.4 ± 28.5 particles/m3). In fish, the concentration in upstream and downstream sites was 7.3 ± 7.3 and 12.4 ± 17.9 particles/fish, respectively. Spatially, the downstream site was the most polluted with microplastics in water and fish. The concentration of microplastics was positively correlated with fish body length and weight. In sediment, microplastic concentration in upstream and downstream sites was 493.1 ± 136.0 and 380.0 ± 144.2 particles/kg, respectively. The contribution of upstream to the microplastic load in downstream was 15.8% in dry season (April), which was higher than that of STP effluent and Yangjaechon creek. Meanwhile, the highest load was observed in STP effluent (5.1%) in rainy season (August). Microplastics were more abundant in water in the rainy season (37.4 ± 37.0 particles/m3) than in the dry season (28.2 ± 22.2 particles/m3). Polyethylene (49%) and polypropylene (18%) were the most abundant polymer types in water, fish, and sediment. Regarding shape of microplastics, fragments were dominant (95%) over fiber and film in water, fish, and sediment.

Justyna Szulc, Małgorzata Okrasa, K. Majchrzycka et al.

Toxins • 2021

Despite the awareness that work in the sewage treatment plant is associated with biological hazards, they have not been fully recognised so far. The research aims to comprehensively evaluate microbiological and toxicological hazards in the air and settled dust in workstations in a sewage treatment plant. The number of microorganisms in the air and settled dust was determined using the culture method and the diversity was evaluated using high-throughput sequencing. Endotoxin concentration was assessed with GC-MS (gas chromatography-mass spectrometry) while secondary metabolites with LC-MS/MS (liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry). Moreover, cytotoxicity of settled dust against a human lung epithelial lung cell line was determined with the MTT (3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide) assay and UHPLC-Q-ToF-UHRMS (ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole time-of-flight ultrahigh-resolution mass spectrometry) analysis was performed to determine the source of cytotoxicity. The total dust concentration in the sewage treatment plant was low and ranged from 0.030 mg m−3 to 0.044 mg m−3. The highest microbiological contamination was observed in sludge thickening building and screenings storage. Three secondary metabolites were detected in the air and sixteen in the settled dust. They were dominated by compounds typical of lichen and plants and Aspergillus, Penicillium and Fusarium genera mould. The settled dust from the sludge thickening building revealed high cytotoxicity to human lung epithelial cells A-549 (IC50 = 6.98 after 72 h). This effect can be attributed to a biocidal compound—didecyldimethylammonium chloride (DDAC-C10) and seven toxic compounds: 4-hydroxynonenal, carbofuran, cerulenin, diethylphosphate, fenpropimorph, naphthalene and onchidal. The presence of DDAC-C10 and other biocidal substances in the sewage treatment plant environment may bring negative results for biological sewage treatment and the natural environment in the future and contribute to microorganisms’ increasing antibiotics resistance. Therefore, the concentration of antibiotics, pesticides and disinfectants in sewage treatment plant workstations should be monitored.

Jiaheng Zhao, Bing Li, Pin Lv et al.

Frontiers of Environmental Science & Engineering • 2021

The distribution of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) has been intensively studied in large-scale wastewater treatment plants and livestock sources. However, small-scale decentralized sewage treatment facilities must also be explored due to their possible direct exposure to residents. In this study, six wastewater treatment facilities in developed rural areas in eastern China were investigated to understand their risks of spreading ARGs. Using metagenomics and network analysis tools, ARGs and bacterial and viral communities were identified in the influent (INF) and effluent (EFF) samples. The dominant ARGs belonged to the bacitracin class, which are different from most of municipal wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). The dominant hosts of ARGs are Acidovorax in bacterial communities and Prymnesiovirus in viral communities. Furthermore, a positive relationship was found between ARGs and phages. The ARGs significantly correlated with phages were all hosted by specific genera of bacteria, indicating that phages had contributed to the ARG’s proliferation in sewage treatment facilities. Paying significant concern on the possible enhanced risks caused by bacteria, viruses and their related ARGs in decentralized sewage treatment facilities is necessary.

Lu Lu, Hui Zheng, Jing Jie et al.

Complex & Intelligent Systems • 2021

To solve the problem of high-energy consumption in activated sludge wastewater treatment, a reinforcement learning-based particle swarm optimization (RLPSO) was proposed to optimize the control setting in the sewage process. This algorithm tries to take advantage of the valid history information to guide the behavior of particles through a reinforcement learning strategy. First, an elite network is constructed by selecting elite particles and recording their successful search behavior. Then the network is trained and evaluated to effectively predict the particle velocity. In the periodic wastewater treatment process, the RLPSO runs repeatedly according to the optimized cycle. Finally, RLPSO was tested based on Benchmark Simulation Model 1 (BSM1) of sewage treatment, and the simulation results showed that it could effectively reduce the energy consumption on the premise of ensuring qualified water quality. Furthermore, the performance of RLPSO was analyzed using the benchmarks with higher dimension, which verifies the effectiveness of the algorithm and provides the possibility for RLPSO to be applied to a wider range of problems.

Zhiwei Guo, Yu Shen, A. Bashir et al.

International Journal of Intelligent Systems • 2021

Intelligent algorithms‐driven industrial decision systems have been a general demand for modeling complex sewage treatment processes (STP). Existing researches modeled complex STP with the use of various neural network models, yet neglecting the fact that latent and occasional relations exist inside complex STP. To deal with the challenge, this paper proposes graph embedding‐based intelligent industrial decision for complex STP (GE‐STP). The graph embedding (GE) scheme is employed to enhance feature extraction and neural computing structure is utilized to simulate uncertain biochemical transformation inside STP. The introduction of GE can not only improves the fineness of feature spaces, but also improves the representative ability of models towards complex industrial processes. On this basis, the GE‐STP is evaluated on a real‐world data set collected from a realistic sewage treatment plant equipped with a set of Internet of Things devices. And some typical neural network models that have been utilized for modeling complex STP, are selected as baseline methods. Three groups of experiments show that efficiency of the GE‐STP exceeds baselines about 6%–12%, and that the GE‐STP is not susceptible to parameter changing.

Wei Zheng, Yan Ming Yang, Yun Long Li et al.

Advanced Materials Research • 2014

The process technique and design parameters of project of Solar Ozonic Ecological Sewage Treatment Plant (short for SOESTP) which consists of anaerobic reactor, horizontal subsurface flow (HSSF) constructed wetlands(CWs) and the combination of solar power and ozone disinfection are described, the paper further examines the removal efficiency for treating rural domestic sewage, running expense and recycling ability of product water. The results show that the average percentage removal values of CODcr，BOD 5 ，SS，TN，NH 3 -N，TP range from 95.6% to 98.0%, 96.0% to 98.7%, 93.1% to 96.1%, 97.0% to 98.9%, 96.9% to 99.5%, 98.2% to 99.6%, respectively, the reduction of fecal coliform (FC) reaches 99.9%, the effluent quality meets the first level A criteria specified in Discharge Standard of Pollutants for Municipal Wastewater Treatment Plant（GB18918-2002）. The running cost of SOESTP is 0.063yuan/ m 3 , saves much more than traditional sewage treatment, and the ozone water obtained from the reservoir will be an ideal choice for disinfection .The system has characteristics of easy manipulation, low operating cost, achieving advanced water, energy conservation and environment protection, is thought to be very suitable for use as the promotion of rural small - scale sewage treatment.

Heena Tabassum, Allika Sailaja, Huda Afreen et al.

Sustainable Development • 2023

This chapter provides a brief overview of nanomaterials, including classification, shape and structure, nanomaterial types, and applications in the degradation of recalcitrant organic contaminants. With the rapid advancement of nanotechnology science, the use of nanomaterials in environmental applications, particularly water treatment, has piqued the scientific community’s interest in recent decades. Nanomaterials have unique properties such as surface-to-volume ratio, quantum effect, low band-gap energy, and so on, which enhance catalytic performance. Wastewater treatment is a critical task of the twenty-first century since it protects the health of our environment and living beings. Because of its ability to affect both living and nonliving organisms, wastewater is always viewed as a serious source of environmental contamination. Many physical, biological, and chemical modes of treatment are implied to comply with wastewater discharge standards set by competent national agencies for environmental protection.

Ernest Mbamalu Ezeh, Peter Chinedu Agu, Epere Aworabhi

Sewage - Management and Treatment Techniques • 2024

Sewage treatment is crucial to safeguard public health and the environment. Various techniques are available for treating wastewater, and the selection of one often depends on factors like the wastewater composition, environmental conditions, and treatment objectives. One of the most widely used methods of biological treatment for sewage is activated sludge, which employs aerobic bacteria to degrade organic matter. This process involves blending wastewater with a mixture of bacteria and flocs, with the bacteria consuming the organic matter to produce clear water while the flocs settle. Another commonly employed method is anaerobic digestion, which employs anaerobic bacteria to decompose organic matter in the absence of oxygen. These methods generate biogas, containing methane and carbon dioxide, and digestate, a nutrient-rich sludge suitable as soil amendment or fertilizer. This chapter explores the mechanisms and applications of activated sludge and anaerobic digestion in biological sewage treatment, highlighting their advantages and downsides, the factors that influence their performance, such as pH, temperature, and substrate concentration. It covers the latest improvements in biological sewage treatment, including the use of new microbial strains and hybrid treatment systems.

Zvezdimira Tsvetanova, Rosen Boshnakov

Water • 2024

Waste water treatment plants (WWTP) are considered as a hotspot for the acquisition and dissemination of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). The present study aimed to assess the AMR rate of the waste water microbiome in a selected WWTP and the treatment efficiency. Culture-dependent and PCR methods were used in the AMR study of raw and treated waste water (TWW) microbiomes. The population proportion of heterotrophic plate count (HPC) bacteria resistant to five antibiotic classes was assessed, as well as the AMR phenotype of a total of 238 Enterobacteriaceae and 259 Enterococcus spp. strains. Waste water treatment increased tetracycline- and ciprofloxacin-resistant bacteria by 67% and 61%, as well as the incidence of Enterobacteriaceae resistant to ciprofloxacin, co-trimoxazole, and cephalosporins. Multiple resistance increased, and 8.8% of TWW isolates exhibited an ESBL-producing phenotype, most often encoded by blaTEM and blaCTX-M genes. The most common resistance among Enterococcus spp. was to erythromycin and tetracycline, and despite the increased AMR rate among TWW isolates, only the increase in tetracycline resistance and the decrease in high-level gentamicin resistance were significant. All parameters analysed demonstrated limited removal of resistant HPC or faecal indicator bacteria in the studied WWTP and a positive selective effect towards some of them, most often to ciprofloxacin.

Xinhui Xia, Fengyi Zhu, Jianju Li et al.

Frontiers in Chemistry • 2020

High levels of toxic organic pollutants commonly detected during domestic/industrial wastewater treatment have been attracting research attention globally because they seriously threaten human health. Sulfate-radical-based advanced oxidation processes (SR-AOPs) have been successfully used in wastewater treatment, such as that containing antibiotics, pesticides, and persistent organic pollutants, for refractory contaminant degradation. This review summarizes activation methods, including physical, chemical, and other coupling approaches, for efficient generation of sulfate radicals and evaluates their applications and economic feasibility. The degradation behavior as well as the efficiency of the generated sulfate radicals of typical domestic and industrial wastewater treatment is investigated. The categories and characteristics of the intermediates are also evaluated. The role of sulfate radicals, their kinetic characteristics, and possible mechanisms for organic elimination are assessed. In the last section, current difficulties and future perspectives of SR-AOPs for wastewater treatment are summarized.

S. Kurniawan, S. R. Abdullah, M. Imron et al.

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health • 2020

The utilization of metal-based conventional coagulants/flocculants to remove suspended solids from drinking water and wastewater is currently leading to new concerns. Alarming issues related to the prolonged effects on human health and further pollution to aquatic environments from the generated nonbiodegradable sludge are becoming trending topics. The utilization of biocoagulants/bioflocculants does not produce chemical residue in the effluent and creates nonharmful, biodegradable sludge. The conventional coagulation–flocculation processes in drinking water and wastewater treatment, including the health and environmental issues related to the utilization of metal-based coagulants/flocculants during the processes, are discussed in this paper. As a counterpoint, the development of biocoagulants/bioflocculants for drinking water and wastewater treatment is intensively reviewed. The characterization, origin, potential sources, and application of this green technology are critically reviewed. This review paper also provides a thorough discussion on the challenges and opportunities regarding the further utilization and application of biocoagulants/bioflocculants in water and wastewater treatment, including the importance of the selection of raw materials, the simplification of extraction processes, the application to different water and wastewater characteristics, the scaling up of this technology to a real industrial scale, and also the potential for sludge recovery by utilizing biocoagulants/bioflocculants in water/wastewater treatment.

S. Shaheen, N. Niazi, Noha E. E. Hassan et al.

International Materials Reviews • 2018

Recently, biochar has received significant attention, especially for the removal of potentially toxic elements (PTEs) from water and wastewater. No review has been focused on the potential use of wood-based biochar (WB) for the removal of PTEs in water and wastewater. Here, we have critically reviewed the (i) preparation and characterisation of WB; (ii) removal efficiency of WB for PTEs in water with respect to its physicochemical characteristics, biochar/water ratio, pH, and sorption system; (iii) removal mechanisms of PTEs by WB; (iv) fate of the sorbed PTEs onto WB; and (v) recovery of the sorbed PTEs from the resultant sludge of WB. We also discussed the removal of PTEs by engineered/designer WB as compared to pristine WB. This review demonstrates the overarching scientific opportunities for a comprehensive understanding of using WB as an emerging biosorbent and a promising low-cost and effective material for the remediation of PTEs contaminated water.

N. Ungureanu, V. Vlăduț, G. Voicu

Sustainability • 2020

Due to climate change, two-thirds of mankind will face water scarcity by 2025, while by 2050, global food production must increase by at least 50% to feed 9 billion people. To overcome water scarcity, 15 million m 3 /day of untreated wastewater is used globally for crop irrigation, polluting the soil with pathogens, heavy metals and excess salts. Since 10% of the global population consumes food from crops irrigated with wastewater, pathogens transmitted through the food chain cause diseases especially in young children and women. In this paper, we discuss the status of water scarcity and the challenges to food security, the reuse of wastewater in agriculture and the possible risks to human and environmental health. The efficiency of different irrigation systems in limiting the risks of wastewater reuse and the latest regulations of the European Commission on effluent recovery are also presented. Hence, we emphasize that irrigation offers real perspectives for large-scale recovery of wastewater, helping to reduce the deficit and conserve water resources, and increasing food safety, with the express mention that investments must be made in wastewater treatment plants and wastewater must be properly treated before recovery, to limit the risks on human health and the environment.

Renu, M. Agarwal, Kailash Singh

Journal of Water Reuse and Desalination • 2017

Heavy metals are discharged into water from various industries. They can be toxic or carcinogenic in nature and can cause severe problems for humans and aquatic ecosystems. Thus, the removal of heavy metals from wastewater is a serious problem. The adsorption process is widely used for the removal of heavy metals from wastewater because of its low cost, availability and eco-friendly nature. Both commercial adsorbents and bioadsorbents are used for the removal of heavy metals from wastewater, with high removal capacity. This review article aims to compile scattered information on the different adsorbents that are used for heavy metal removal and to provide information on the commercially available and natural bioadsorbents used for removal of chromium, cadmium and copper, in particular.

Uduakobong A. Edet, A. Ifelebuegu

Processes • 2020

Phosphates in wastewater at elevated concentrations cause eutrophication of water bodies and their removal from treated wastewater is essential before effluents are discharged to the environment. Phosphates are predominately removed during wastewater treatment by chemical precipitation which is usually expensive and has a significant environmental footprint. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of waste recycled bricks as adsorbent for phosphate removal during wastewater treatment. The kinetics, isotherms, and thermodynamics of adsorption were investigated to establish the mechanisms of adsorption. The results showed that adsorption capacities increased with an increase in contact time, adsorbent dosage, and initial phosphate concentration. The kinetic study indicated that adsorption was governed by several mechanisms with various processes dominating different stages of the adsorption. The adsorption process was better represented by the pseudo-second-order kinetics and the Langmuir isotherm adequately described the adsorption of phosphates onto brick particles with a maximum adsorption capacity of 5.35 mg/g. The thermodynamic studies showed that the adsorption process was exothermic and proceeded spontaneously, demonstrating that waste bricks can be used as a sustainable alternative for the effective removal of phosphates from wastewater.

Sweta Parimita Bera, Manoj Godhaniya, C. Kothari

Journal of Basic Microbiology • 2021

Over the years, conventional wastewater treatment processes have achieved to some extent in treating effluents for discharge pints. Development in wastewater treatment processes is essential to make treated wastewater reusable for industrial, agricultural, and domestic purposes. Membrane technology has emerged as an ideal technology for treating wastewater from different wastewater streams. Membrane technology is one of the most up‐to‐date advancements discovered to be successful in fundamentally lessening impurities to desired levels. In spite of having certain impediments, membrane bioreactors (MBRs) for biological wastewater treatment provide many advantages over conventional treatment. This review article covers all the aspects of membrane technology that are widely used in wastewater treatment process such as the principle of membrane technology, the classification of membrane technology processes in accordance to pressure, concentration, electrical and thermal‐driven processes, its application in different industries, advantages, disadvantages and the future prospective.

Adegoke Isiaka Adetunji, A. Olaniran

Applied Water Science • 2021

Oily wastewater consists of fats, oils and greases together with a broad spectrum of dissolved organic and/or inorganic substances in suspension. It is regarded as one of the most hazardous wastewaters, causing serious environmental and health threats to the ecosystems, flora and fauna. The global increase in the discharge of oily wastewater coupled with stringent regulations for effluent discharge and incessant drive for re-use of treated wastewater necessitate the need for treatment of the wastewater. Conventional approaches employed in the past are inept for oily wastewater treatment due to low treatment efficiency and high operational costs, among others, hence the need for adoption of advanced technologies as promising alternatives to existing treatment systems for oily wastewater. Furthermore, the use of combined treatment processes is effective for the removal of hazardous pollutants present in high-strength oily wastewater. This review provides insights into advanced and emerging state-of-the-art technologies for safe and efficient treatment of industrial oily wastewater.

Katherine E. Graham, Stephanie K Loeb, M. Wolfe et al.

Environmental Science & Technology • 2020

Wastewater-based epidemiology may be useful for informing public health response to viral diseases like COVID-19 caused by SARS-CoV-2. We quantified SARS-CoV-2 RNA in wastewater influent and primary settled solids in two wastewater treatment plants to inform the preanalytical and analytical approaches and to assess whether influent or solids harbored more viral targets. The primary settled solids samples resulted in higher SARS-CoV-2 detection frequencies than the corresponding influent samples. Likewise, SARS-CoV-2 RNA was more readily detected in solids using one-step digital droplet (dd)RT-PCR than with two-step RT-QPCR and two-step ddRT-PCR, likely owing to reduced inhibition with the one-step ddRT-PCR assay. We subsequently analyzed a longitudinal time series of 89 settled solids samples from a single plant for SARS-CoV-2 RNA as well as coronavirus recovery (bovine coronavirus) and fecal strength (pepper mild mottle virus) controls. SARS-CoV-2 RNA targets N1 and N2 concentrations correlated positively and significantly with COVID-19 clinically confirmed case counts in the sewershed. Together, the results demonstrate that measuring SARS-CoV-2 RNA concentrations in settled solids may be a more sensitive approach than measuring SARS-CoV-2 in influent.

C. Y. Teh, Pretty Mori Budiman, K. P. Y. Shak et al.

Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research • 2016

Increasing environmental awareness coupled with more stringent regulation standards has triggered various industries to challenge themselves in seeking appropriate wastewater treatment technologies. Coagulation–flocculation process is regarded as one of the most important and widely used treatment processes of industrial wastewaters due to its simplicity and effectiveness. This paper provides a critical review on recent studies of coagulation–flocculation treatment processes of various industrial wastewaters. The limitations and challenges for the coagulation–flocculation process such as the toxicity and health hazard posed by inorganic coagulants, production of large amount of toxic sludge, ineffectiveness in removing heavy metals and emerging contaminants, increase in effluent color, inefficient pollutant removal using natural coagulants, and complexity of scaling up procedure are presented. In addition, an overview on the influence of process parameters on treatment efficiency is included in this revie...

Fazila Younas, A. Mustafa, Z. Farooqi et al.

Water • 2021

Wastewater generation and treatment is an ever-increasing concern in the current century due to increased urbanization and industrialization. To tackle the situation of increasing environmental hazards, numerous wastewater treatment approaches are used—i.e., physical, chemical, and biological (primary to tertiary treatment) methods. Various treatment techniques being used have the risks of producing secondary pollutants. The most promising technique is the use of different materials as adsorbents that have a higher efficacy in treating wastewater, with a minimal production of secondary pollutants. Biosorption is a key process that is highly efficient and cost-effective. This method majorly uses the adsorption process/mechanism for toxicant removal from wastewater. This review elaborates the major agricultural and non-agricultural materials-based sorbents that have been used with their possible mechanisms of pollutant removal. Moreover, this creates a better understanding of how the efficacy of these sorbents can be enhanced by modification or treatments with other substances. This review also explains the re-usability and mechanisms of the used adsorbents and/or their disposal in a safe and environmentally friendly way, along with highlighting the major research gaps and potential future research directions. Additionally, the cost benefit ratio of adsorbents is elucidated.

C. Naughton, F. Roman, A. Alvarado et al.

FEMS Microbes • 2021

A year since the declaration of the global coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic there have been over 110 million cases and 2.5 million deaths. Using methods to track community spread of other viruses such as poliovirus, environmental virologists and those in the wastewater based epidemiology (WBE) field quickly adapted their existing methods to detect SARS-CoV-2 RNA in wastewater. Unlike COVID-19 case and mortality data, there was not a global dashboard to track wastewater monitoring of SARS-CoV-2 RNA worldwide. This study describes the development of the COVIDPoops19 dashboard to disseminate information regarding sites, universities, research institutions and private laboratories in countries that are involved in WBE for SARS-CoV-2. Methods to assemble the dashboard combined standard literature review, direct submissions, and daily, social media keyword searches. Over 200 universities, 1,000 sites, and 50 countries with 59 dashboards monitor wastewater for SARS-CoV-2 RNA. However, monitoring is inequitably distributed in high-income countries and data are not widely shared publicly or accessible to researchers to inform public health actions, meta-analysis, better coordinate, and determine equitable distribution of monitoring sites. For WBE to be used to its full potential during COVID-19 and beyond, show us the data.

K. Abuhasel, M. Kchaou, M. Alquraish et al.

Water • 2021

Industrial developments in the oil and gas, petrochemical, pharmaceutical and food sector have contributed to the large production of oily wastewater worldwide. Oily wastewater pollution affects drinking water and groundwater resources, endangers aquatic life and human health, causes atmospheric pollution, and affects crop production. Several traditional and conventional methods were widely reported, and the advantages and limitations were discussed. However, with the technology innovation, new trends of coupling between techniques, use of new materials, optimization of the cleaning process, and multiphysical approach present new paths for improvement. Despite these trends of improvement and the encouraging laboratory results of modern and green methods, many challenges remain to be raised, particularly the commercialization and the global aspect of these solutions and the reliability to reduce the system’s maintenance and operational cost. In this review, the well-known oily wastewater cleaning methods and approaches are being highlighted, and the obstacles faced in the practical use of these technologies are discussed. A critical review on the technologies and future direction as the road to commercialization is also presented to persevere water resources for the benefit of mankind and all living things.

K. Jain, Anand S. Patel, Vishwas P. Pardhi et al.

Molecules • 2021

Clean and safe water is a fundamental human need for multi-faceted development of society and a thriving economy. Brisk rises in populations, expanding industrialization, urbanization and extensive agriculture practices have resulted in the generation of wastewater which have not only made the water dirty or polluted, but also deadly. Millions of people die every year due to diseases communicated through consumption of water contaminated by deleterious pathogens. Although various methods for wastewater treatment have been explored in the last few decades but their use is restrained by many limitations including use of chemicals, formation of disinfection by-products (DBPs), time consumption and expensiveness. Nanotechnology, manipulation of matter at a molecular or an atomic level to craft new structures, devices and systems having superior electronic, optical, magnetic, conductive and mechanical properties, is emerging as a promising technology, which has demonstrated remarkable feats in various fields including wastewater treatment. Nanomaterials encompass a high surface to volume ratio, a high sensitivity and reactivity, a high adsorption capacity, and ease of functionalization which makes them suitable for application in wastewater treatment. In this article we have reviewed the techniques being developed for wastewater treatment using nanotechnology based on adsorption and biosorption, nanofiltration, photocatalysis, disinfection and sensing technology. Furthermore, this review also highlights the fate of the nanomaterials in wastewater treatment as well as risks associated with their use.

Shuchen Feng, A. Roguet, Jill S. McClary-Gutierrez et al.

ACS ES&T Water • 2021

Wastewater surveillance for SARS-CoV-2 provides an approach for assessing the infection burden across a sewer service area. For these data to be useful for public health, measurement variability and the relationship to case data need to be established. We determined SARS-CoV-2 RNA concentrations in the influent of 12 wastewater treatment plants from August 2020 to January 2021. Technical replicates for N1 gene concentrations showed a relative standard deviation of 24%, suggesting it is possible to track relatively small (similar to 30%) changes in SARS-CoV-2 concentrations over time. COVID-19 cases were correlated significantly (rho >= 0.70) to wastewater SARS-CoV-2 RNA concentrations across large and small service areas, with weaker relationships (rho >= 0.59) in two communities. SARS-CoV-2 concentrations normalized to per capita slightly improved correlations to COVID-19 incidence, but normalizing to a spiked recovery control (BCoV) or a fecal marker (PMMoV or HF183) reduced correlations for a number of plants. Daily sampling demonstrated that a minimum of two samples collected per week were needed to maintain accuracy in trend analysis. The differences in the strength of SARS-CoV-2 relationships to COVID-19 incidence and the effect of normalization on these data among communities demonstrate that rigorous validation should be performed at individual sites where wastewater surveillance programs are implemented.

G. Enaime, A. Baçaoui, A. Yaacoubi et al.

Applied Sciences • 2020

Biochar as a stable carbon-rich material shows incredible potential to handle water/wastewater contaminants. Its application is gaining increasing interest due to the availability of feedstock, the simplicity of the preparation methods, and their enhanced physico-chemical properties. The efficacy of biochar to remove organic and inorganic pollutants depends on its surface area, pore size distribution, surface functional groups, and the size of the molecules to be removed, while the physical architecture and surface properties of biochar depend on the nature of feedstock and the preparation method/conditions. For instance, pyrolysis at high temperatures generally produces hydrophobic biochars with higher surface area and micropore volume, allowing it to be more suitable for organic contaminants sorption, whereas biochars produced at low temperatures own smaller pore size, lower surface area, and higher oxygen-containing functional groups and are more suitable to remove inorganic contaminants. In the field of water/wastewater treatment, biochar can have extensive application prospects. Biochar have been widely used as an additive/support media during anaerobic digestion and as filter media for the removal of suspended matter, heavy metals and pathogens. Biochar was also tested for its efficiency as a support-based catalyst for the degradation of dyes and recalcitrant contaminants. The current review discusses on the different methods for biochar production and provides an overview of current applications of biochar in wastewater treatment.

Yulin Zheng, Yongshan Wan, Yue Zhang et al.

Critical Reviews in Environmental Science and Technology • 2022

Abstract Phosphorus (P) as an essential nutrient for life sustains the productivity of food systems; yet misdirected P often accumulates in wastewater and triggers water eutrophication if not properly treated. Although technologies have been developed to remove P, little attention has been paid to the recovery of P from wastewater. This work provides a comprehensive review of the state-of-the-art P removal technologies in the science of wastewater treatment. Our analyses focus on the mechanisms, removal efficiencies, and recovery potential of four typical water and wastewater treatment processes including precipitation, biological treatment, membrane separation, and adsorption. The design principles, feasibility, operation parameters, and pros & cons of these technologies are analyzed and compared. Perspectives and future research of P removal and recovery are also proposed in the context of paradigm shift to sustainable water treatment technology. Graphic abstract HIGHLIGHTS P removal efficiencies and P recovery potential of four typical wastewater treatment processes are critically reviewed. Feasibility, transfer routes, operation parameters, and pros & cons of these technologies in P recovery are analyzed and compared P can be recovered from wastewater into value-added fertilizers or soil amendment. Perspectives and future research directions of P removal and recovery are outlined.

L. Gurreri, A. Tamburini, A. Cipollina et al.

Membranes • 2020

This paper presents a comprehensive review of studies on electrodialysis (ED) applications in wastewater treatment, outlining the current status and the future prospect. ED is a membrane process of separation under the action of an electric field, where ions are selectively transported across ion-exchange membranes. ED of both conventional or unconventional fashion has been tested to treat several waste or spent aqueous solutions, including effluents from various industrial processes, municipal wastewater or salt water treatment plants, and animal farms. Properties such as selectivity, high separation efficiency, and chemical-free treatment make ED methods adequate for desalination and other treatments with significant environmental benefits. ED technologies can be used in operations of concentration, dilution, desalination, regeneration, and valorisation to reclaim wastewater and recover water and/or other products, e.g., heavy metal ions, salts, acids/bases, nutrients, and organics, or electrical energy. Intense research activity has been directed towards developing enhanced or novel systems, showing that zero or minimal liquid discharge approaches can be techno-economically affordable and competitive. Despite few real plants having been installed, recent developments are opening new routes for the large-scale use of ED techniques in a plethora of treatment processes for wastewater.

Xiaoxuan Wang, Jinming Jiang, Weijun Gao

Water Science and Technology • 2022

The textile industry is one of the most intensive industries in chemical products whose wastewater contains hazardous dyes, pigments, dissolved/suspended solids, and heavy metals. Hence, it is important to effectively treat the wastewater generated by this industry before releasing it into the environment. Although the field of textile wastewater treatment has made tremendous progress, the developed treatment methods should be improved further to make them economically viable and friendly. In this review, characteristics of textile wastewater are introduced. We have primarily focused on the environmental impact and toxicity of textile wastewater. Toxic and harmful contaminants must be removed from textile wastewater to reduce the extent of environmental pollution caused when textile wastewater is released into rivers or reused. Hence, various techniques that are used to treat textile wastewater are discussed. Finally, the challenges faced, and prospects of the methods have been discussed in detail.

Naresh Yadav Donkadokula, Anand Kishore Kola, I. Naz et al.

Reviews in Environmental Science and Bio/Technology • 2020

The utilization of dyes in textile industries has enormously increased in recent years and has created several environmental problems. Currently, several methods are in practice to treat wastewaters. Effective and efficient treatment techniques before the discharge of used water in the environment are the need of the hour. This short review covers the research and recent developments in advanced wastewater treatment techniques such as nanophotocatalysis, ceramic nanofiltration membranes, and biofilms. The primary intent of this review article is to contribute the ready-made references for the active researchers and scientists working in the field of wastewater treatment. This review has mainly focused on advanced physico-chemical and biological techniques for the treatment of textile dye wastewaters. Further, the influence of various operating factors on the treatment, advantages, and disadvantages of various techniques was also discussed. The recently developed materials for wastewater treatment are also summarized based on the latest available literature.

Seyedehmaryam Moosavi, C. Lai, Sinyee Gan et al.

ACS Omega • 2020

Since the turn of the 21st century, water pollution has been a major issue, and most of the pollution is generated by dyes. Adsorption is one of the most commonly used dye-removal methods from aqueous solution. Magnetic-particle integration in the water-treatment industry is gaining considerable attention because of its outstanding physical and chemical properties. Magnetic-particle adsorption technology shows promising and effective outcomes for wastewater treatment owing to the presence of magnetic material in the adsorbents that can facilitate separation through the application of an external magnetic field. Meanwhile, the introduction of activated carbon (AC) derived from various materials into a magnetic material can lead to efficient organic-dye removal. Therefore, this combination can provide an economical, efficient, and environmentally friendly water-purification process. Although activated carbon from low-cost and abundant materials has considerable potential in the water-treatment industry, the widespread applications of adsorption technology are limited by adsorbent recovery and separation after treatment. This work specifically and comprehensively describes the use of a combination of a magnetic material and an activated carbon material for dye adsorption in wastewater treatment. The literature survey in this mini-review provides evidence of the potential use of these magnetic adsorbents, as well as their magnetic separation and recovery. Future directions and challenges of magnetic activated carbon in wastewater treatment are also discussed in this paper.

Jinyue Yang, Baohong Hou, Jingkang Wang et al.

Nanomaterials • 2019

Removal of contaminants in wastewater, such as heavy metals, has become a severe problem in the world. Numerous technologies have been developed to deal with this problem. As an emerging technology, nanotechnology has been gaining increasing interest and many nanomaterials have been developed to remove heavy metals from polluted water, due to their excellent features resulting from the nanometer effect. In this work, novel nanomaterials, including carbon-based nanomaterials, zero-valent metal, metal-oxide based nanomaterials, and nanocomposites, and their applications for the removal of heavy metal ions from wastewater were systematically reviewed. Their efficiency, limitations, and advantages were compared and discussed. Furthermore, the promising perspective of nanomaterials in environmental applications was also discussed and potential directions for future work were suggested.

Baile Wu, Jun Wan, Yanyang Zhang et al.

Environmental Science & Technology • 2019

Eutrophication of water bodies is a serious and widespread environmental problem. Achieving low levels of phosphate concentration to prevent eutrophication is one of the important goals of the wastewater engineering and surface water management. Meeting the increasingly stringent standards is feasible in using a phosphate-selective sorption system. This critical review discusses the most fundamental aspects of selective phosphate removal processes and highlights gains from the latest developments of phosphate-selective sorbents. Selective sorption of phosphate over other competing anions can be achieved based on their differences in acid-base properties, geometric shapes, and metal complexing abilities. Correspondingly, interaction mechanisms between the phosphate and sorbent are categorized as hydrogen bonding, shape complementarity, and inner-sphere complexation, and their representative sorbents are organic-functionalized materials, molecularly imprinted polymers, and metal-based materials, respectively. Dominating factors affecting the phosphate sorption performance of these sorbents are critically examined, along with a discussion of some overlooked facts regarding the development of high-performance sorbents for selective phosphate removal from water and wastewater.

M. Qadir, P. Drechsel, B. Jiménez Cisneros et al.

Natural Resources Forum • 2020

There is a proactive interest in recovering water, nutrients and energy from waste streams with the increase in municipal wastewater volumes and innovations in resource recovery. Based on the synthesis of wastewater data, this study provides insights into the global and regional “potential” of wastewater as water, nutrient and energy sources while acknowledging the limitations of current resource recovery opportunities and promoting efforts to fast‐track high‐efficiency returns. The study estimates suggest that, currently, 380 billion m3 (m3 = 1,000 L) of wastewater are produced annually across the world which is a volume five‐fold the volume of water passing through Niagara Falls annually. Wastewater production globally is expected to increase by 24% by 2030 and 51% by 2050 over the current level. Among major nutrients, 16.6 Tg (Tg = million metric ton) of nitrogen are embedded in wastewater produced worldwide annually; phosphorus stands at 3.0 Tg and potassium at 6.3 Tg. The full nutrient recovery from wastewater would offset 13.4% of the global demand for these nutrients in agriculture. Beyond nutrient recovery and economic gains, there are critical environmental benefits, such as minimizing eutrophication. At the energy front, the energy embedded in wastewater would be enough to provide electricity to 158 million households. These estimates and projections are based on the maximum theoretical amounts of water, nutrients and energy that exist in the reported municipal wastewater produced worldwide annually. Supporting resource recovery from wastewater will need a step‐wise approach to address a range of constraints to deliver a high rate of return in direct support of Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) 6, 7 and 12, but also other Goals, including adaptation to climate change and efforts in advancing “net‐zero” energy processes towards a green economy.

Toral Shindhal, Parita Rakholiya, Sunita Varjani et al.

Bioengineered • 2020

ABSTRACT Rapid industrialization has provided comforts to mankind but has also impacted the environment harmfully. There has been severe increase in the pollution due to several industries, in particular due to dye industry, which generate huge quantities of wastewater containing hazardous chemicals. Although tremendous developments have taken place for the treatment and management of such wastewater through chemical or biological processes, there is an emerging shift in the approach, with focus shifting on resource recovery from such wastewater and also their management in sustainable manner. This review article aims to present and discuss the most advanced and state-of-art technical and scientific developments about the treatment of dye industry wastewater, which include advanced oxidation process, membrane filtration technique, microbial technologies, bio-electrochemical degradation, photocatalytic degradation, etc. Among these technologies, microbial degradation seems highly promising for resource recovery and sustainability and has been discussed in detail as a promising approach. This paper also covers the challenges and future perspectives in this field. GRAPHICAL ABSTARCT

D. A. Hammer

• 2020

General Principles: Wastewaters: A Perspective (A.J. Smith). Wetlands Ecosystems: Natural Water Purifiers? (D.A. Hammer and R.K. Bastian). Hydrologic Factors in Wetland Water Treatment (R.H. Kadlec). Physical and Chemical Characteristics of Freshwater Wetland Soils (S.P. Faulkner and C.J. Richardson). Wetland Vegetation (G.R. Guntenspergen, F. Stearns, and J.A. Kadlec). Wetlands Microbiology: Form, Function, Processes (R.J. Portier and S.J. Palmer). Wetlands: The Lifeblood of Wildlife (J.S. Feierabend). Case Histories: Constructed Free Surface Wetlands to Treat and Receive Wastewater: Pilot Project to Full Scale (R.A. Gearheart, F. Klopp, and G. Allen). The Iselin Marsh Pond Meadow (T.E. Conway and J.M. Murtha). Integrated Wastewater Treatment Using Artificial Wetlands: A Gravel Marsh Case Study (R.M. Gersberg, S.R. Lyon, R. Brenner, and B.V. Elkins). Sewage Treatment by Reed Bed Systems: The Present Situation in the United Kingdom (P.F. Cooper and J.A. Hobson). Aquatic Plant/Microbial Filters for Treating Septic Tank Effluent (B.C. Wolverton). Creation and Management of Wetlands Using Municipal Wastewater in Northern Arizona: A Status Report (M. Wilhelm, S.R. Lawry, and D.D. Hardy). Land Treatment of Municipal Wastewater on Mississippi Sandhill Crane National Wildlife Refuge for Wetland/Crane Habitat Enhancement: A Status Report (J.W. Hardy). Waste Treatment for Confined Swine with an Integrated Artificial Wetland and Aquaculture System (J.J. Maddox and J.B. Kingsley). Treatment of Acid Drainage with a Constructed Wetland at the Tennessee Valley Authority 950 Coal Mine (G.A. Brodie, D.A. Hammer, and D.A. Tomljanovich). Constructed Wetlands for Treatment of Ash Pond Seepage (G.A. Brodie, D.A. Hammer, and D.A. Tomljanovich). Use of Wetlands for Treatment of Environmental Problems in Mining: Non-Coal-Mining Applications (T.R. Wildeman nad L.S. Laudon). Constructed Wetlands for Wastewater Treatment at Amoco Oil Company's Mandan, North Dakota Refinery (D.K. Litchfield and D.D. Schatz). Utilization of Artificial Marshes for Treatment of Pulp Mill Effluents (R.N. Thut). Use of Artificial Wetlands for Treatment of Municipal Solid Waste Landfill Leachate (N.M. Trautmann, J.H. Martin, Jr., K.S. Porter, and K.C. Hawk, Jr.). Use of Wetlands for Urban Stormwater Management (E.H. Livingston). Design, Construction and Operation: Use of Wetlands for Municipal Wastewater Treatment and Disposal-Regulatory Issues and EPA Policies (R.K. Bastian, P.E. Shanaghan, and B.P. Thompson). States' Activities, Attitudes and Policies Concerning Constructed Wetlands for Wastewater Treatment (R.L. Slayden, Jr. nad L.N. Schwartz). Human Perception of Utilization of Wetlands for Waste Assimilation, or How Do You Make A Silk Purse Out of A Sow's Ear? (R.C. Smardon). Preliminary Considerations Regarding Constructed Wetlands for Wastewater Treatment (R.K. Wieder, G. Tchobanoglous, nad R.W. Tuttle). Selection and Evaluation of Sites for Constructed Wastewater Treatment Wetlands (G.A. Brodie). Performance Expectations and Loading Rates for Constructed Wetlands (J.T. Watson, S.C. Reed, R.H. kadlec, R.L. Knight, and A.E. Whitehouse). Ancillary benefits of Wetlands Constructed Primarily for Wastewater Treatment (J.H. Sather). Overview from Ducks Unlimited, Inc. (R.D. Hoffman). Configuration and Substrate Design Considerations for Constructed Wetlands Wastewater Treatment (G.R. Steiner and R.J. Freeman, Jr.). Hydraulic Design Considerations and Control Structures for Constructed Wetlands for Wastewater Treatment (J.T. Watson and J.A. Hobson). California's Experience with Mosquitos in Aquatic Wastewater Treatment Systems (C.V. Martin and B.F. Eldridge). Constructing the Wastewater Treatment Wetland - Some Factors to Consider (D.A. Tomljanovich and O. Perez). Considerations and Techniques for Vegetation Establishment in Constructed Wetlands (H.H. Allen, G.J. Pierce, and R. Van Wormer). Operations Optimization (M.A. Girts and R.L. Knight). Pathogen Removal in Constructed Wetlands (R.M. Gersberg, R.A. Gearheart, and M. Ives). Monitoring of Constructed Wetlands for Wastewater (D.B. Hicks and Q.J. Stober). Recent Results from the Field and Laboratory: Dynamics of Inorganic and Organic Materials in Wetlands Ecosystems (R.H. Kadlec, W. Grosse, R.L. Davido, T.E. Conway, R. Schultz-Hock, Y.-P. Hsieh, and C.L. Coultas). Efficiencies of Substrates, Vegetation, Water Levels and Microbial Populations (S.C. Michaud, C.J. Richardson, R.S. Hedin, R. Hammack, D. Hyman, R.J. Portier, T.A. DeBusk, P.S. Burgoon, K.R. Reddy, J.B. Kingsley, J.J. Maddox, P.M. Giordano, W. Batal, L.S. Laudon, T.R. Wildeman, and N. Mohdnoordin, and J. Vymazal). Management of Domestic and Municipal Wastewaters (H. Brix, H.-H. Schierup, J. Jackson, A. Wood, L.C. Hensman, K.J. Whalen, P.S. Lombardo, D.B. Wile, T.H. Neel, B.B. james, R. Bogaert, R. Haberl, R. Perfler, T.J. Mingee, R.W. Crites, J.A. Hobson, G. Miller, A.L. Schwartz, R.L. Knight, H.J. Bavor, D.J. Roser, P.J. Fisher, and I.C. Smalls, P.R. Scheuerman, G. Bitton, S.R. Farrah, and C.H. Dill). Treatment of Nonpoint Source Pollutants-Urban Runoff and Agricultural Wastes (G.S. Silverman, E.C. Meiorin, P. Daukas, D. Lowry, W.W. Walker, Jr., L.C. Linker, C.J. Costello, E.F. Lowe, D.L. Stites, and L.E. Battoe). Applications to Industrial and Landfill Wastewaters (M.S. Ailstock, V.G. Guida, I.J. Kugelman, W.W. Staubitz, J.M. Surface, T.S. Steenhuis, J.H. Peverly, M.J. LAvine, N.C. Weeks, W.E. Sanford, R.J. Kopka, and J.N. Dornbush). Control of Acid Mine Drainage Including Coal Pile and Ash Pond Seepage (M. Silver, E.A. Howard, J.C. Emerick, T.R. Wildeman, S.E. Stevens, Jr., K. Dionis, L.R. Stark, E.A. Howard, M.C. Hestmark, and T.D. Margulies, P. Eger, K. Lapakko, R.L. Kolbash, T.L. Tomanoski, J. Henrot, R.K. Wieder, K.P. Heston, M.P. Nardi, W.R. Wenerick, S.E. Stevens, Jr., H.J. Webster, L.R. stark, E. DeVeau, E.L. Snoddy, G.A. Brodie, D.A. Hammer, and D.A. Tomljanovich). Index.

A. A. Yaqoob, T. Parveen, K. Umar et al.

Water • 2020

Water is an essential part of life and its availability is important for all living creatures. On the other side, the world is suffering from a major problem of drinking water. There are several gases, microorganisms and other toxins (chemicals and heavy metals) added into water during rain, flowing water, etc. which is responsible for water pollution. This review article describes various applications of nanomaterial in removing different types of impurities from polluted water. There are various kinds of nanomaterials, which carried huge potential to treat polluted water (containing metal toxin substance, different organic and inorganic impurities) very effectively due to their unique properties like greater surface area, able to work at low concentration, etc. The nanostructured catalytic membranes, nanosorbents and nanophotocatalyst based approaches to remove pollutants from wastewater are eco-friendly and efficient, but they require more energy, more investment in order to purify the wastewater. There are many challenges and issues of wastewater treatment. Some precautions are also required to keep away from ecological and health issues. New modern equipment for wastewater treatment should be flexible, low cost and efficient for the commercialization purpose.

A. Bivins, J. Greaves, R. Fischer et al.

Environmental Science & Technology Letters • 2020

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) RNA is frequently detected in the feces of infected individuals. While infectious SARS-CoV-2 has not previously been identified in wastewater, infectious SARS-CoV-2 has been isolated from the feces of at least one patient, raising concerns about the presence of infectious SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater. The fate and inactivation characteristics of SARS-CoV-2 in water and wastewater are unknown, with current inactivation estimates based on surrogate models. In this study, the persistence of SARS-CoV-2 infectivity and RNA signal was determined in water and wastewater. The times for 90% reduction (T90) of viable SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater and tap water at room temperature were 1.5 and 1.7 days, respectively. In high-starting titer (105 TCID50 mL–1) experiments, infectious virus persisted for the entire 7-day sampling time course. In wastewater at 50 and 70 °C, the observed T90 values for infectious SARS-CoV-2 were decreased to 15 and 2 min, respectively. SARS-CoV-2 RNA was found to be significantly more persistent than infectious SARS-CoV-2, indicating that the environmental detection of RNA alone does not substantiate risk of infection.

T. Ambaye, M. Vaccari, E. V. van Hullebusch et al.

International Journal of Environmental Science and Technology • 2020

Currently, due to the rapid growth of urbanization and industrialization in developing countries, a large volume of wastewater is produced from industries that contain chemicals generating high environmental risks affecting human health and the economy if not treated properly. Consequently, the development of a sustainable low-cost wastewater treatment approach has attracted more attention of policymakers and scientists. The present review highlights the recent applications of biochar in removing organic and inorganic pollutants present in industrial effluents. The recent modes of preparation, physicochemical properties and adsorption mechanisms of biochar in removing organic and inorganic industrial pollutants are also reviewed comprehensively. Biochar showed high adsorption of industrial dyes up to 80%. It also discusses the recent application and mechanism of biochar-supported photocatalytic materials for the degradation of organic contaminants in wastewater. We reviewed also the possible optimizations (such as the pyrolysis temperature, solution pH) allowing the increase of the adsorption capabilities of biochar leading to organic contaminants removal. Besides, increasing the pyrolysis temperature of the biochar was seen to lead to an increase in its surface area, while it decreases their amount of oxygen-containing functional groups, consequently leading to a decrease in the adsorption of metal (loid) ions present in the medium. Finally, the review suggests that more research should be carried out to optimize the main parameters involved in biochar production and its regeneration methods. Future efforts should be also carried out towards process engineering to improve its adsorption capacity to increase the economic benefits of its implementation.