Removal of natural organic matter from surface water sources by nanofiltration and surface engineering membranes for fouling mitigation - A review.

Due to increasing regulations on the production and consumption of legacy per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), the global use of PFAS substitutes increased tremendously, posing serious environmental risks owing to their bioaccumulation, toxicity, and lack of removal strategies. This review summarized the spatial distribution of alternative PFAS and their ecological risks in global freshwater and marine ecosystems. Further, toxicological effects of novel PFAS in various freshwater and marine species were highlighted. Moreover, degradation mechanisms for alternative PFAS removal from aquatic environments were compared and discussed. The spatial distribution showed that 6:2 chlorinated polyfluorinated ether sulfonate (6:2 CI-PFAES, also known as F-53B) was the most dominant emerging PFAS found in freshwater. Additionally, the highest levels of PFBS and PFBA were observed in marine waters (West Pacific Ocean). Moreover, short-chain PFAS exhibited higher concentrations than long-chain congeners. The ecological risk quotients (RQs) for phytoplankton were relatively higher >1 than invertebrates, indicating a higher risk for freshwater phytoplankton species. Similarly, in marine water, the majority of PFAS substitutes exhibited negligible risk for invertebrates and fish, and posed elevated risks for phytoplanktons. Reviewed studies showed that alternative PFAS undergo bioaccumulation and cause deleterious effects such as oxidative stress, hepatoxicity, neurotoxicity, histopathological alterations, behavioral and growth abnormalities, reproductive toxicity and metabolism defects in freshwater and marine species. Regarding PFAS treatment methods, photodegradation, photocatalysis, and adsorption showed promising degradation approaches with efficiencies as high as 90%. Finally, research gaps and future perspectives for alternative PFAS toxicological implications and their removal were offered. 

The untold story of PFAS alternatives: Insights into the occurrence, ecotoxicological impacts, and removal strategies in the aquatic environment

Hydfrogen production from water industries for a circular economy

Agro-waste management processes are evolving through the development of novel experimental approaches to understand the mechanisms in reducing their pollution levels efficiently and economically from industrial effluents. Agro-industrial effluent (AIE) from biorefineries that contain high concentrations of COD and color are discharged into the ecosystem. Thus, the AIE from these biorefineries requires treatment prior to discharge. Therefore, the effectiveness of a continuous flow bioreactor system (CFBS) in the treatment of AIE using hybrid waste sludge biochar (HWSB) was investigated. The use of a bioreactor with hydraulic retention time (HRT) of 1–3 days and AIE concentrations of 10–50% was used in experiments based on a statistical design. AIE concentration and HRT were optimized using response surface methodology (RSM) as the process variables. The performance of CFBS was analyzed in terms of COD and color removal. Findings indicated 76.52% and 66.97% reduction in COD and color, respectively. During biokinetic studies, the modified Stover models were found to be perfectly suited for the observed measurements with R2 values 0.9741 attained for COD. Maximum contaminants elimination was attained at 30% AIE and 2-day HRT. Thus, this study proves that the HWSB made from biomass waste can potentially help preserve nonrenewable resources and promote zero-waste attainment and principles of circular economy.

/pdf/synthesis-characterization-and-performance-evaluation-of-1deco6na.pdf

Synthesis, Characterization, and Performance Evaluation of Hybrid Waste Sludge Biochar for COD and Color Removal from Agro-Industrial Effluent

Thiamethoxam (TMX) is a highly toxic systemic neonicotinoid pesticide and its entry into water bodies can greatly endanger human health and aquatic ecosystems. Hence, developing low-cost, ecofriendly and efficient adsorbents is urgently needed for removal of TMX from contaminated water. In this study, the nanostructured alum water treatment residuals (nWTR) were produced, characterized and evaluated, for the first time, for TMX removal from wastewater through sorption and mechanism studies. The impact of pH, sorbent/TMX solution ratio, exposure time, initial TMX concentration, and temperature on the TMX removal process were examined. The maximum adsorption capacity of TMX by nWTR was enhanced 2.6 times higher than that of bulk WTR due to enlarged specific surface area and pore volume. The adsorption equilibrium and kinetics data best followed Langmuir and first order models respectively. The thermodynamic study showed that the adsorption reaction of TMX onto nWTR was a spontaneous and endothermic process. The suggested mechanisms of TMX sorption by nWTR are hydrogen bonding, Al and Fe complexes formation and electrostatic interlinkage. Furthermore, the reusability study showed that nWTR sorbent can be effectively applied for up to 3 consecutive cycles for the remediation of TMX contaminated wastewater. The study demonstrates the potential use of nWTRs as cost effective, stable, reusable and promising adsorbent for TMX removal from wastewater. 

Enhanced removal of Thiamethoxam from wastewater using waste-derived nanoparticles: Adsorption performance and mechanisms

Water treatment processes produce large volumes of drinking water that must meet regulatory quality requirements. In the process of so doing, the treatment of water generates large volumes of ‘alum sludge’; a by-product typically considered a waste and disposed to landfill. However, reductions in access to landfill sites, increased disposal costs, and concepts of achieving zero-waste are spurring different approaches to sludge management and disposal. Principles of Circular Economy that seek to promote regenerative design, eliminating waste and continual use of resources, are becoming increasingly important for water authorities. This paper comprehensively reviews the general properties of water treatment sludge, contemporary disposal practices, and its sustainable resource management, including sludge reuse, recycling, and recovery options. The paper also discusses potential social, economic and environmental benefits and barriers of implementing sustainable resource management with water treatment sludge in the context of the Circular Economy. Future research opportunities are discussed with a focus on promoting sustainable management practices where water treatment sludge is considered a value-add resource. • An outline of current disposal practices for water treatment sludge (WTS). • Circular Economy framework that can be applied to WTS management. • A detailed summary of recent studies on WTS: recovery, re-use and recycling. • A critical discussion on benefits and barriers of WTS management practices towards Circular Economy. • Recommendations on future research with WTS management. 

Beneficial reuse of water treatment sludge in the context of circular economy

Equilibrium phosphorus (P) adsorption was investigated for nine aluminium-based water treatment sludges (WTS) from four water treatment plants in Victoria, Australia. Four WTS, one from each location, were characterised in-depth to unpack the P adsorption trends observed from the nine WTS. Morphology, surface area, porosity, mineralogy, and acid-digestible aluminium were measured. In a key finding resolving longstanding uncertainty on this topic, results indicate that the age of the sludge does not account for differences in P adsorption. However, there was a strong correlation between the acid-digestible Al content of the sludge, the surface area of the sludge and the P adsorption. Acid-digestible Al concentration may serve as a simple proxy to help identify WTS batches best suited to reuse for P adsorption. One of WTS was investigated in further detail to identify suitable conditions for use in adsorption. The highest P adsorption was observed at pH 4 (the lowest pH tested), with negligible release of Fe & Al at this pH. The second smallest fractions (1.18 mm) which showed the highest adsorption. We hypothesise that the smallest size fraction (0.6 mm) is composed of inert materials that do not participate in P adsorption. All WTS released organic content ranging from 1.63 mg/L to 9.7 mg/L into the solution in experiments and it was influenced by the pH and P concentration which supports that ligand exchange is the driving force. This study of provide useful information for water treatment plant operators to identify potential reuse applications for water treatment sludge. • Trends of P adsorption with WTS age do not correlate across multiple sites. • Acid digestible Al shows a strong correlation with surface area and P adsorption. • The particle size fraction less than 0.6 mm appears to be less active in P adsorption. • Organic release is influenced by pH and quantity of P adsorbed but not the sludge age. 

Reuse of aluminium-based water treatment sludge for phosphorus adsorption: Evaluating the factors affecting and correlation between adsorption and sludge properties

Investigation on the suitability of aluminium-based water treatment sludge as a sustainable soil replacement for road construction

Investigation on removal of perfluorooctanoic acid (Pfoa), perfluorooctane sulfonate (Pfos), perfluorohexane sulfonate (Pfhxs) using water treatment sludge and biochar.

The study investigated water treatment sludge (WTS) as a phosphorus (P) adsorbent and examined the release of organic matter during the P adsorption process. Previous studies indicated that WTS is an effective adsorbent for P but also releases organic matter, which may affect the organoleptic properties of treated water, but no study has characterised organic release and conducted an in-depth study on its behaviours. This study characterised the organic release during the P adsorption process from four different WTS samples. This study also offers results from a 60-day column experiment that indicate that WTS columns effectively removed the majority of P from the 2 mg/L feed solution. The total organic carbon (TOC) release was gradually reduced from 24.9 mg/L on day 1 to stable levels of 4.4 mg/L to 4.1 mg/L from day 22 onwards. After 60 days, when the organic matter was nearly exhausted, WTS columns were still effective in P adsorption from the solution. In addition, the thermal treatment of WTS at different temperatures was investigated to reduce TOC release and increase P adsorption. The results showed that thermal treatment not only minimized TOC release but also enhanced the P adsorption capacity of the sludge. In a 24-h batch experiment, WTS treated at 600 °C showed the highest P adsorption (1.7 mg/g) with negligible TOC release when compared to sludge treated at 500 °C WTS (1.2 mg/g), 700 °C WTS (1.5 mg/g) and dried WTS (0.75 mg/g). However, the release of inorganic compounds slightly increased after thermal treatment. Future studies could focus on determining whether the thermal processing of WTS which can enhance the WTS's adsorption to emerging pollutants like per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances and other contaminants. The findings of this study could influence the management practices of water authorities and contribute to the water sector's sustainability objectives. 

Phosphorus adsorption and organic release from dried and thermally treated water treatment sludge.

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