Wastewater toxicity removal: Integrated chemical and effect-based monitoring of full-scale conventional activated sludge and membrane bioreactor plants

G Bertanza, N Steimberg, R Pedrazzani… - Science of The Total …, 2022 - Elsevier

The literature is currently lacking effect-based monitoring studies targeted at evaluating the performance of full-scale membrane bioreactor plants. In this research, a monitoring campaign was performed at a full-scale wastewater treatment facility with two parallel lines (traditional activated sludge and membrane bioreactor). Beside the standard parameters (COD, nitrogen, phosphorus, and metals), 6 polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons, 29 insecticides, 2 herbicides, and 3 endocrine disrupting compounds were measured. A multi …

How should ecohazard of micropollutants in wastewater be gauged? Using bioassays to profile alternative tertiary treatments

M Papa, L Paredes, D Feretti, G Viola… - Environmental …, 2021 - eeer.org

The research on emerging pollutants in wastewater has become a worldwide issue of increasing environmental concern, especially considering the growing interest in wastewater reuse. However, the latter implies additional post-treatment after the conventional activated sludge processes, in order to produce a safer effluent. Our work aimed at determining the efficiency of reducing the toxicity associated with organic micropollutants (OMPs) in secondary wastewater effluents, using 3 different post-treatment …

Environmental Footprint of Wastewater Treatment: A Step Forward in the Use of Toxicological Tools

G Bertanza, J Boniotti, E Ceretti, D Feretti… - International journal of …, 2021 - mdpi.com

The assessment of the actual impact of discharged wastewater on the whole ecosystem and, in turn, on human health requires the execution of bioassays. In effect, based on the chemical characterization alone, the synergistic/antagonistic effect of mixtures of pollutants is hardly estimable. The aim of this work was to evaluate the applicability of a battery of bioassays and to suggest a smart procedure for results representation. Two real wastewater treatment plants were submitted to analytical campaigns. Several baseline toxicity assays … 

Methodological protocol for assessing the environmental footprint by means of ecotoxicological tools: Wastewater treatment plants as an example case

R Pedrazzani, P Baroni, D Feretti, G Mazzoleni… - Ecotoxicological …, 2020 - Springer

The ecotoxicological tools reveal to be profitably employable within the assessment of the so-called environmental footprint, which is commonly based on the results of a chemical monitoring. Due to the heterogeneity of biological endpoints and the possibility to explore several exposure frames, as well as to consider higher levels of organization (from cells to organisms and mesocosms), the definition of a protocol is desirable.

Long-term investigation on the removal of perfluoroalkyl substances in a full-scale drinking water treatment plant in the Veneto Region, Italy

G Bertanza, GU Capoferri, M Carmagnani… - Science of The Total …, 2020 - Elsevier

Drinking water contamination by perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) is an issue of relatively recent concern. The literature indicates that anion exchange resins and granular activated carbon (GAC) are suitable technologies for removing these compounds. While several laboratory-scale and pilot-scale experiments have been conducted to study activated carbon adsorption/desorption mechanisms of a number of PFASs, little data on full- scale plants are available. This work examines a real case of groundwater contamination by …

Opinion paper about organic trace pollutants in wastewater: Toxicity assessment in a European perspective

…, J Dries, J Dvarionienė, AJ García-Fernández… - Science of the total …, 2019 - Elsevier

This opinion paper focuses on the role of eco-toxicological tools in the assessment of possible impacts of emerging contaminants on the aquatic ecosystem, hence, on human health. Indeed, organic trace pollutants present in raw and treated wastewater are the pivot targets: a multidisciplinary approach allows defining the basic principles for managing this issue, from setting a proper monitoring campaign up to evaluating the optimal process treatment. Giving hints on trace pollutants fate and behaviour, attention is focused on the …

Air, water and soil: Which alternatives? Alternative models in environmental toxicology

Y Sambuy, S Alloisio, G Bertanza, D Ferretti… - 2018 - air.unimi.it

A roundtable was held at the end of the meeting. First, the special importance in environmental toxicology of considering the global effects of mixtures of contaminants, and the need for adequate experimental approaches to evaluate them was discussed. Mixtures are more frequent than single substances in environmental contaminations, and the study of their effects requires special attention. Integrated Testing Strategies (ITS) need to be more widely introduced in environmental toxicology in analogy with other toxicological fields, with …

The role of bioassays in the evaluation of ecotoxicological aspects within the PEF/OEF protocols: The case of WWTPs

R Pedrazzani, I Cavallotti, E Bollati, M Ferreri… - Ecotoxicology and …, 2018 - Elsevier

The suitability evaluation of any industrial process should rely on economic, technical, social and, in particular, environmental aspects. The Commission Recommendation 2013/179/UE enables the improvement and the harmonization of the conventional evaluation of environmental footprints, such as LCA (Life Cycle Assessment), Carbon and Water Footprint, by suggesting the assessment of life cycle environmental performance of products and organisations (PEF, OEF). Novelty aspects reside in including new impact categories …

Is anaerobic digestion effective for the removal of organic micropollutants and biological activities from sewage sludge?

L Gonzalez-Gil, M Papa, D Feretti, E Ceretti… - Water research, 2016 - Elsevier

The occurrence of emerging organic micropollutants (OMPs) in sewage sludge has been widely reported; nevertheless, their fate during sludge treatment remains unclear. The objective of this work was to study the fate of OMPs during mesophilic and thermophilic anaerobic digestion (AD), the most common processes used for sludge stabilization, by using raw sewage sludge without spiking OMPs. Moreover, the results of analytical chemistry were complemented with biological assays in order to verify the possible adverse …

Suitability of Sludge Biotic Index (SBI), Sludge Index (SI) and filamentous bacteria analysis for assessing activated sludge process performance: the case of piggery …

R Pedrazzani, L Menoni, S Nembrini… - Journal of Industrial …, 2016 - academic.oup.com

Piggery slaughterhouse wastewater poses serious issues in terms of disposal feasibility and environmental impact, due to its huge organic load and variability. It is commonly treated by means of activated sludge processes, whose performance, in case of municipal wastewater, can be monitored by means of specific analyses, such as Sludge Biotic Index (SBI), Sludge Index (SI) and floc and filamentous bacteria observation. Therefore, this paper was aimed at assessing the applicability of these techniques to piggery slaughterhouse sewage. A plant …

How green are environmental technologies? A new approach for a global evaluation: The case of WWTP effluents ozonation

M Papa, R Pedrazzani, G Bertanza - Water research, 2013 - Elsevier

The research on the impact of chemical pollution is now increasingly attracted by the topic of organic micropollutants: as secondary biological treatment of wastewater does not provide the complete elimination of these substances, an advanced treatment downstream the biological process can be implemented. Notwithstanding, the benefits of improved effluent quality can be weakened by the negative effects on air quality, when energy consumption and related pollutants emissions deriving from the advanced treatment technologies are …

Licit and illicit drugs in a wastewater treatment plant in Verona, Italy

C Repice, M Dal Grande, R Maggi… - Science of the Total …, 2013 - Elsevier

The occurrence of 12 active substances among licit and illicit drugs was investigated over a 2 week period inflowing and outflowing in an activated sludge wastewater treatment plant in the city of Verona, Northern Italy. Chemical analyses were performed by means of on-line solid phase extraction coupled to high performance liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry in order to minimize sample pre-treatment. Quantifiable concentrations, up to hundreds of ng/L, were detected in influent and in effluent only for carbamazepine, codeine …

Biodegradability, toxicity and mutagenicity of detergents: Integrated experimental evaluations

R Pedrazzani, E Ceretti, I Zerbini, R Casale… - Ecotoxicology and …, 2012 - Elsevier

The widespread use of detergents has raised concern with regard to the environmental pollution caused by their active ingredients, which are biorefractory, toxic and persistent. Since detergents are complex mixtures of different substances, in which synergistic effects may occur, we aimed to assess the mutagenicity of different detergent formulations, taking into account aquatic toxicity and ready biodegradability. We performed a ready biodegradability test (OECD 301 F), Daphnia magna and Vibrio fischeri toxicity tests, and …