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Micropollutant Removal from Laundry Wastewater in Algal-Activated Sludge Systems: Microbial Studies

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Abstract

The main objective of this research was to study the feasibility of using algal and algal-activated sludge systems in treating laundry wastewater. Three different types of systems—green microalgae (system A), diatoms + activated sludge (system B), and green microalgae + activated sludge (system C)—were studied at six different solid retention times (SRT)—6, 8, 10, 12, 14, and 16 days—to evaluate their performance in removal of total organic carbon (TOC), total nitrogen (TN), anionic surfactants, and micropollutants with added trace elements. System B showed relatively better performance in removal of TOC (79%) and TN (90%). A total of 64 compounds were detected in influent when analyzed by LC-MS, of which 19 were grouped under herbicides, pesticides, and insecticides, 25 under pharmaceuticals, and 20 under others. Linear alkylbenzene sulfonate (LAS) was detected only in the effluent of system A and was not detected in both system B and system C. Grotan OX, an anti-microbial, was the compound with least removal in all the systems. The bacterial LAS degrader/tolerant plate count in system B at 16-day SRT was 2000 CFU/mL, 50 times more than the plate count of system C (40 CFU/mL). The LAS degrader/tolerant bacterial species identified were Aeromonas caviae and Klebsiella pneumonia in both systems B and C. The LAS degrader/tolerant green microalgae plate count at 16-day SRT was 130 CFU/mL, whereas no LAS degrader/tolerant diatom colonies were observed.

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Funding

This research was funded by the Japan International Cooperation Agency under Collaboration Kick-starter Program.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad, Kandi, Telangana, 502285, India

    Aishwarya Pandey, Keerthi Katam & Debraj Bhattacharyya

  2. Agilent Technologies India Pvt. Ltd., Whitefield, Bengaluru, 560048, India

    Prasanth Joseph

  3. Department of Environmental Systems Engineering, Ritsumeikan University, Shiga, 5258577, Japan

    Satoshi Soda & Toshiyuki Shimizu

Authors
  1. Aishwarya Pandey
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  2. Keerthi Katam
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  3. Prasanth Joseph
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  4. Satoshi Soda
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  5. Toshiyuki Shimizu
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  6. Debraj Bhattacharyya
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Correspondence to Debraj Bhattacharyya.

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Pandey, A., Katam, K., Joseph, P. et al. Micropollutant Removal from Laundry Wastewater in Algal-Activated Sludge Systems: Microbial Studies. Water Air Soil Pollut 231, 374 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-020-04749-x

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