Environmental Science: Water Research & Technology最新文献

Vector-borne diseases (VBDs) pose a growing public health threat globally, driven by climate change, urbanization, and increasing human mobility. Wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE), which has proven valuable for monitoring enteric and respiratory pathogens, is now being explored as a complementary tool for VBD surveillance. This manuscript synthesizes insights from a 2025 National Science Foundation Research Coordination Network (RCN) workshop (Award # 2202361), which convened researchers and public health professionals on March 13, 2025, to assess the feasibility, challenges, and future directions of WBE for VBD surveillance. The application of WBE to VBDs has several technical and biological challenges, including low and inconsistent shedding of arboviruses in feces and urine, RNA degradation in wastewater, availability of sewered networks for identification of hotspots, geography, and the limited performance of clinical qPCR assays in complex environmental matrices. Newer methods such as metagenomic sequencing and digital PCR (dPCR) offer enhanced sensitivity and detection, but are resource intensive and require additional technical specialization. The strategic selection of sentinel sampling locations such as hospitals, airports, and congregate settings can improve early detection, particularly in non-endemic or travel-associated outbreak contexts. The geographical expansion of competent arboviral vectors have been exacerbated by climate change, urging the development of WBE systems that are adaptable, geographically targeted, and integrated with climate and socio-ecological data. We highlight the need for interdisciplinary collaboration, methodological innovation, and public health engagement to translate WBE signals of vector borne pathogens into timely and actionable responses. As global disease landscapes continue to evolve, WBE may serve as an important early warning system for emerging and re-emerging VBD threats.

Corrections are provided for “Shallow Shell SSTA63 resin: a rapid approach to remediation of hazardous nitrate” (Çendik et al., Environ. Sci.: Water Res. Technol., 2024, 10, 2765–2775, https://doi.org/10.1039/D4EW00584H) in response to the comment by K. H. Chu (Environ. Sci.: Water Res. Technol., 2026, 12, https://doi.org/10.1039/D4EW00976B).

This study proposes an integrated strategy combining intermittent aeration, methyl p-hydroxy-phenylpropionate (MHPP) with syringic acid (SA), and hydrazine (N₂H₄) to address the instability of nitritation in autotrophic nitrogen removal systems treating low-ammonia wastewater. Achieving stable nitritation is critical for efficient autotrophic nitrogen removal in such systems. Yet, it remains challenging due to the difficulty in selectively suppressing nitrite-oxidizing bacteria (NOB) under low ammonia-conditions. Nitrogen transformation patterns and microbial community succession were analyzed by comparing the effects of the two inhibitors with N₂H₄. The R1 reactor employing the MHPP + N₂H₄ + intermittent aeration strategy achieved a nitrite accumulation rate (NAR) of 83.75% in the third phase, with a nitrate accumulation efficiency of only 9.64%. In contrast, the R2 reactor (using SA + N₂H₄ + intermittent aeration) reached an NAR of only 55.61%, while its nitrate accumulation efficiency exceeded 38.63%. Functional gene prediction revealed a 98% increase in the abundance of the AMO gene in R1 compared to the initial phase, confirming that MHPP selectively inhibits nitrite-oxidizing bacteria (NOB) while promoting the metabolism of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB). High-throughput sequencing further verified a significant reduction in NOB abundance in the R1 system (0.017%, p < 0.01). Microbial community reconstruction revealed that stable system performance was achieved through the synergistic inhibition of NOB and the optimization of the AOB ecological niche. This study offers an innovative approach to stabilize nitrogen removal in low-ammonia wastewater treatment, addressing an urgent need for effective and sustainable solutions under challenging operational conditions.

Background: Wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) enables the population-level surveillance of molecular and chemical targets. Despite the high prevalence of respiratory diseases, there is a lack of sensitive analytical methods for detecting associated medications in complex wastewater matrices. Methods: We developed and validated a liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS)/MS method using multiple reaction monitoring for 10 common respiratory pharmaceuticals. The workflow integrated freeze-drying for preconcentration, online solid-phase extraction for cleanup, and stable isotope-labeled internal standards (SILs) to compensate for matrix effects. Results: Detection and quantification limits ranged from 0.7 to 19 ng L⁻¹ and 3 to 125 ng L⁻¹, respectively, with recoveries of 82–194% and precision within 0.14–7.2% relative standard deviation. Matrix effects (64–228%) were effectively corrected using SILs. Application to 12 neighborhood-level wastewater samples detected 9 of the 10 target compounds, with 6 (albuterol, amoxicillin, azithromycin, cetirizine, diphenhydramine, and fexofenadine), detected above their quantification limits. Fexofenadine was the most abundant, reaching 3309 ng L⁻¹. Conclusion: This robust, low-volume, high-throughput LC-MS/MS method enables the reliable detection of respiratory pharmaceuticals in wastewater, supporting WBE applications for pharmaceutical use surveillance.

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are highly persistent synthetic chemicals that pose serious environmental and public health risks due to their resistance to degradation, bioaccumulative nature, and toxicity. Their widespread occurrence in water, soil, and biota underscores the urgent need for effective remediation strategies. Conventional methods such as adsorption, filtration, and chemical oxidation, often fail to achieve complete mineralization and may generate harmful by-products. Biodegradation, driven by microbial and enzymatic processes, has emerged as a promising sustainable alternative. This review evaluates recent advances in PFAS biodegradation, focusing on the role of bacteria, fungi, and enzymatic mechanisms, as well as the influence of environmental factors on degradation efficiency. Innovative strategies including enzyme immobilization, phytoremediation, hybrid chemical–biological systems, and machine learning-based predictive modeling are evaluated for their potential to enhance treatment efficiency. Remaining challenges include incomplete understanding of metabolic pathways and limited scalability. A future research roadmap is proposed to integrate metabolic engineering, system optimization, and field-scale validation toward effective, sustainable PFAS biodegradation. This review provides a comprehensive synthesis of current knowledge and outlines strategic directions to advance PFAS biodegradation research and its practical implementation.

This study investigated the optimization of color, lignin, and total phenol removal from pulp and paper wastewater with immobilized laccase from Trametes versicolor on titanium dioxide nanoparticles. A Taguchi L9 orthogonal array design was used to efficiently investigate the impacts of four essential factors: catalyst concentration, pH, reaction temperature, and reaction time, each of which varied over three levels. The immobilized laccase's performance was examined by assessing the reduction in color (Pt–Co), lignin (mg L⁻¹), and total phenols (mg L⁻¹ GAE). The results demonstrated remarkable variations in the reduction of pollutants, highlighting the significance of the selected parameters. The best combination of factor values for simultaneous elimination was found using S/N ratio analysis, with time having the greatest impact. The regression models for lignin removal showed the strongest predictive power, with R² values of 98.23% for free laccase and 94.41% for immobilized laccase. All of the models were validated to be statistically significant. Immobilized laccase outperformed free laccase with removal efficiencies of 94.01% for color, 95.45% for lignin, and 94.25% for total phenols compared to the lower removal rates of 64.46%, 58.32%, and 52.65% observed respectively for the pollutants. This study demonstrates the Taguchi method's effectiveness in optimizing pulp and paper wastewater treatment with immobilized laccase, offering valuable insights for efficient and cost-effective pollutant removal.

Zidovudine (AZT), a persistent pharmaceutical contaminant detected in diverse biological and environmental matrices, raised significant concerns due to its ecological and health risks. This study systematically investigates the degradation kinetics, mechanisms, and toxicity evolution of AZT in a UV/peroxymonosulfate (UV/PMS) system. The UV/PMS process demonstrated superior performance with a degradation rate constant of 0.0384 min⁻¹, surpassing UV/H₂O₂ (0.0138 min⁻¹) and UV/NaClO (0.0300 min⁻¹), achieving 84.44% removal efficiency. Radical quenching experiments and kinetic modeling revealed synergistic contributions from direct photolysis (51.0%), hydroxyl radicals (18.1%), and sulfate radicals (30.9%). Degradation exhibited strong pH dependence, with optimal efficiency at pH 5.2–6.1 (k = 0.0486 min⁻¹, >92% removal), while alkaline conditions significantly inhibited the process. Coexisting substances differentially influenced degradation: HCO₃⁻ (10 mM) reduced efficiency to 68.6% (k = 0.0194 min⁻¹), NO₃⁻ (3 mM) slightly enhanced removal to 90.85% (k = 0.0414 min⁻¹), and NO₂⁻ (3 mM) and humic acid (10 mg L⁻¹) caused severe suppression (46.2% and 36.84% removal, respectively) through radical quenching and UV absorption. In real water matrices, Yellow River source reservoir water inhibits AZT degradation: under identical oxidant concentrations, UV/PMS, UV/NaClO, and UV/H₂O₂ systems showed 26.85%, 31.2%, and 32.9% lower efficiencies than in ultrapure water. Increasing PMS to 15 and 25 mg L⁻¹ enhanced UV/PMS removal to 70.04% and 81.03%. Inhibition is linked to inorganic ions, scavenging radicals, alkaline pH (8.27), high turbidity interfering with UV absorption, and organics competing for radicals. Three primary degradation pathways were identified, involving thymine formation, azide group elimination, demethylation, and double bond addition. Toxicity assessments using Vibrio fischeri bioluminescence indicated an initial increase followed by partial reduction in acute toxicity, though residual toxicity persistently exceeded baseline levels.

Wastewater-based epidemiology emerged as a valuable method to monitor the COVID-19 epidemic and the dynamic of SARS-CoV-2 variants. Because of its ease of deployment and low cost, membrane-based passive sampling is a prime alternative for deploying a monitoring network in wastewater, especially when automatic samplers cannot be used. However, the performance of these strategies for the identification of low-abundance viruses needs to be evaluated. Passive sampling using nylon membranes and grab sampling were carried out in parallel in the sewers of two French cities in April and May 2022, for the detection of norovirus GII (NoV GII) and SARS-CoV-2. SARS-CoV-2 sequencing was performed to compare the performance of passive samplers and their paired grab sampler in identifying Omicron sub-lineages. Direct lysis and elution methods from nylon membranes were equally effective for virus recovery and SARS-CoV-2 sequencing. For all sites, the virus concentrations in passive and grab samples were very similar. A near-complete genome coverage at a depth of 30 was obtained for most samples, using ARTIC multiplex PCR (V4.1) and Illumina MiSeq. There was a high proportion of low-frequency mutations for both methods and rare mutations in the S gene were detected, which could reflect the presence of cryptic lineages. Even though a large proportion of BA.2 lineage was detected in sewage, most importantly this study provides the first evidence that the use of passive sampling enables early detection of SARS-CoV-2 variants BA.4 and BA.5, that is, before they are identified in the population.

Naturally occurring Ca-bentonite and kaolinite clay minerals acted as low-cost adsorbents for removing phosphorus (P) from waste water and soil. We evaluated the potential of engineered clay pellets prepared with metal waste residuals (steel slag and drinking water treatment residual) and functionalized with polymeric surfactants (Triton-X 100, Tween 20, Tween 80 and carboxymethyl cellulose) on agricultural runoff treatment. Aluminum-based drinking water treatment residual (DWTR) and Ca-bentonite combination demonstrated the maximum (293 ± 39 mg kg⁻¹, 64%) P removal, followed by steel slag and Ca-bentonite (53%). Functionalization of Ca-bentonite pellets with polymeric surfactants dramatically enhanced the negative performance (−2 mg kg⁻¹) of raw Ca-bentonite to a positive P removal of 40 mg kg⁻¹. P desorption trials on functionalized pellets determined reusability and practicality of media pellets. Among all pellets, steel slag and kaolinite showed about 80% desorption of P. The protocol incorporating metal waste residuals offers low cost and pilot-scale production of media pellets for field evaluation.

To enhance electron donor utilization efficiency for advanced nitrogen removal from low carbon-to-nitrogen (C/N) ratio wastewater, polyvinyl alcohol–sodium acetate (PVA–SA) fillers embedded with powdered activated carbon (PAC) were developed and implemented in four lab-scale biofilters treating synthetic effluents from grit chamber and secondary clarifier outputs. Nitrogen removal performance and microbial community dynamics were systematically investigated. The electrochemical biofilter with embedded PAC fillers (EB1) significantly enhanced electron transfer, with nitrogen conversion pathways influenced by the concentrations and types of electron acceptors and donors. Nitrification was suppressed when electron donors (NH₄⁺–N and COD) were present, while denitrification was inhibited under excess NO₃⁻–N conditions. Although non-embedded PAC fillers favored enriching nitrifiers including Nitrosomonas and Nitrospira, and denitrifiers, such as Thauera, Comamonadaceae and Dechloromonas, the electrochemical biofilter facilitated greater accumulation of electrochemically active bacteria on anode plates, including Geobacter (11.64–14.10%), Desulfuromonas (5.88–10.85%) and Pseudomonas (15.15–17.53%). When the influent contained 13 mg L⁻¹ NH₄⁺–N, 8 mg L⁻¹ NO₃⁻–N and 77 mg L⁻¹ COD, Candidatus_Brocadia (0.49–0.61%) was enriched in EB1, and the average contribution of nitrogen conversion via anaerobic ammonia oxidation (anammox) was 10.79% higher than in the non-embedded PAC biofilter. This study offered theoretical insights into optimizing nitrogen removal in low C/N wastewater treatment by enhancing electron donor utilization and promoting functional microbial populations.