Rethinking Wastewater Treatment Plant Effluent Standards: Nutrient Reduction or Nutrient Control?

Hendriks, Alexander; Langeveld, Jeroen

doi:10.1021/acs.est.7b01186

Cited by 69 publications

(21 citation statements)

References 11 publications

(20 reference statements)

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“…Wastewater ammonium is microbially converted to N 2 by nitrification and denitrification, a process that requires careful tuning of facility operations (37). However, removing P from municipal wastewater is a simpler and more effective process involving coagulation, flocculation, and sedimentation (38). Thus, average removal efficiency from municipal wastewater by WWTPs is as high as 90% for TP, but less so (60% to 70%) for TN, resulting in the WWTP effluent with much higher TN/TP mass ratios (median, 23.2; 95% CI, 14.7 to 37.0) than the influent (median, 8.9; 95% CI, 7.0 to 11.1; P < 0.01, t test; SI Appendix, Fig.…”

Section: Response Of Lake Nutrient Regime To Shifting Anthropogenicmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…To achieve coherent and sustainable wastewater management, potential ecological consequences induced by N overenrichment relative to P in aquatic ecology will require consideration in future sanitation approaches in which N and P removals are considered in a holistic way. Possible short-term strategies could include refining operations of existing facilities (40), developing more efficient N-removal technologies (37), and introducing new standards setting TN/TP ratio targets for effluent discharge (38). In the longer term, increasing nutrient recovery from municipal wastewater along with source separation of human excrement may also be promising (2)(3)(4)41).…”

Section: Response Of Lake Nutrient Regime To Shifting Anthropogenicmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Improvement in municipal wastewater treatment alters lake nitrogen to phosphorus ratios in populated regions

Tong

Wang

Peñuelas

et al. 2020

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

179

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Large-scale and rapid improvement in wastewater treatment is common practice in developing countries, yet this influence on nutrient regimes in receiving waterbodies is rarely examined at broad spatial and temporal scales. Here, we present a study linking decadal nutrient monitoring data in lakes with the corresponding estimates of five major anthropogenic nutrient discharges in their surrounding watersheds over time. Within a continuous monitoring dataset covering the period 2008 to 2017, we find that due to different rates of change in TN and TP concentrations, 24 of 46 lakes, mostly located in China’s populated regions, showed increasing TN/TP mass ratios; only 3 lakes showed a decrease. Quantitative relationships between in-lake nutrient concentrations (and their ratios) and anthropogenic nutrient discharges in the surrounding watersheds indicate that increase of lake TN/TP ratios is associated with the rapid improvement in municipal wastewater treatment. Due to the higher removal efficiency of TP compared with TN, TN/TP mass ratios in total municipal wastewater discharge have continued to increase from a median of 10.7 (95% confidence interval, 7.6 to 15.1) in 2008 to 17.7 (95% confidence interval, 13.2 to 27.2) in 2017. Improving municipal wastewater collection and treatment worldwide is an important target within the 17 sustainable development goals set by the United Nations. Given potential ecological impacts on biodiversity and ecosystem function of altered nutrient ratios in wastewater discharge, our results suggest that long-term strategies for domestic wastewater management should not merely focus on total reductions of nutrient discharges but also consider their stoichiometric balance.

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Section: Response Of Lake Nutrient Regime To Shifting Anthropogenicmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Response Of Lake Nutrient Regime To Shifting Anthropogenicmentioning

confidence: 99%

Improvement in municipal wastewater treatment alters lake nitrogen to phosphorus ratios in populated regions

Tong

Wang

Peñuelas

et al. 2020

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

179

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…The significance of improved sanitation infrastructure to controlling nutrient discharges and the spread of diseases in less-developed countries has been recognised by the international community in the coverage targets set by the UN Agenda 2030 26 . Continuous efforts have been made by the wastewater industry to satisfy the regulations limiting point-source nutrient discharge 9 . Figure 4 shows that sanitation usage, the prevalence of nutrient removal facilities (at least secondary treatment), and nutrient removal efficiency are the factors that stimulate the strengthening and reshuffling of the environmental impact hotspots in a relatively straightforward manner.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Significant investments have been made in the wastewater industry to meet the regulations restricting point-source nutrient discharge 8 . In most developing countries, these regulations are consensus-based, emissions standards set at a generic level 9 . In parts of the developed world, such as Australia, Europe, and North America, where eutrophication is of particular concern 10 , more-stringent standards have been implemented to regulate nutrient removal.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impact hotspots of reduced nutrient discharge shift across the globe with population and dietary changes

et al. 2019

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Reducing nutrient discharge from wastewater is essential to mitigating aquatic eutrophication; however, energy- and chemicals-intensive nutrient removal processes, accompanied with the emissions of airborne contaminants, can create other, unexpected, environmental consequences. Implementing mitigation strategies requires a complete understanding of the effects of nutrient control practices, given spatial and temporal variations. Here we simulate the environmental impacts of reducing nutrient discharge from domestic wastewater in 173 countries during 1990–2050. We find that improvements in wastewater infrastructure achieve a large-scale decline in nutrient input to surface waters, but this is causing detrimental effects on the atmosphere and the broader environment. Population size and dietary protein intake have the most significant effects over all the impacts arising from reduction of wastewater nutrients. Wastewater-related impact hotspots are also shifting from Asia to Africa, suggesting a need for interventions in such countries, mostly with growing populations, rising dietary intake, rapid urbanisation, and inadequate sanitation.

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“…Threshold concentration of the range between 0.21-1.2 mg L −1 and 0.01-0.1 mg L −1 of total nitrogen (TN) and total phosphorus (TP), respectively, responsible for causing the eutrophication, was evaluated by Chambers et al (2012). Mostly, P is considered as the rate limiting nutrient for phytoplankton growth; hence, for mitigating the eutrophication, there is a need to reduce the input of Phosphorous into the receiving systems (Hendriks and Langeveld, 2017). For example, in Denmark, a TP effluent concentration of 0.3 mg L −1 is applied to all municipal treatment facilities, whereas in Sweden a 90% reduction is required (compared to 80% reduction in relation to the load of the influent stated by the UWTD).…”

Section: The Integrated Bacterial-microalgal Approach For Treatment O...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Biological Approaches Integrating Algae and Bacteria for the Degradation of Wastewater Contaminants—A Review

et al. 2022

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The traditional approach for biodegradation of organic matter in sewage treatment used a consortium of bacterial spp. that produce untreated or partially treated inorganic contaminants resulting in large amounts of poor-quality sludge. The aeration process of activated sludge treatment requires high energy. So, a sustainable technique for sewage treatment that could produce less amount of sludge and less energy demanding is required for various developed and developing countries. This led to research into using microalgae for wastewater treatment as they reduce concentrations of nutrients like inorganic nitrates and phosphates from the sewage water, hence reducing the associated chemical oxygen demand (COD). The presence of microalgae removes nutrient concentration in water resulting in reduction of chemical oxygen demand (COD) and toxic heavy metals like Al, Ni, and Cu. Their growth also offers opportunity to produce biofuels and bioproducts from algal biomass. To optimize use of microalgae, technologies like high-rate algal ponds (HRAPs) have been developed, that typically use 22% of the electricity used in Sequencing Batch Reactors for activated sludge treatment with added economic and environmental benefits like reduced comparative operation cost per cubic meter, mitigate global warming, and eutrophication potentials. The addition of suitable bacterial species may further enhance the treatment potential in the wastewater medium as the inorganic nutrients are assimilated into the algal biomass, while the organic nutrients are utilized by bacteria. Further, the mutual exchange of CO2 and O2 between the algae and the bacteria helps in enhancing the photosynthetic activity of algae and oxidation by bacteria leading to a higher overall nutrient removal efficiency. Even negative interactions between algae and bacteria mediated by various secondary metabolites (phycotoxins) have proven beneficial as it controls the algal bloom in the eutrophic water bodies. Herein, we attempt to review various opportunities and limitations of using a combination of microalgae and bacteria in wastewater treatment method toward cost effective, eco-friendly, and sustainable method of sewage treatment.

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Rethinking Wastewater Treatment Plant Effluent Standards: Nutrient Reduction or Nutrient Control?

Cited by 69 publications

References 11 publications

Improvement in municipal wastewater treatment alters lake nitrogen to phosphorus ratios in populated regions

Improvement in municipal wastewater treatment alters lake nitrogen to phosphorus ratios in populated regions

Impact hotspots of reduced nutrient discharge shift across the globe with population and dietary changes

Biological Approaches Integrating Algae and Bacteria for the Degradation of Wastewater Contaminants—A Review

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