CAREER: Next generation onsite wastewater treatment system for nitrogen management

事业：用于氮管理的下一代现场废水处理系统

• 批准号: 2238195
• 负责人: Xinwei Mao
• 金额: $ 55.96万
• 依托单位: SUNY at Stony Brook
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2023
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2023-08-01 至 2028-07-31
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2238195&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: CAREER; Next; generation; onsite; wastewater

Millions of households in the United States and worldwide rely on onsite systems for wastewater treatment and disposal. Conventional onsite wastewater treatment systems (OWTS) consist typically of septic tanks connected to leach fields to enable the transport and disposal of liquid effluents in the surrounding soils via networks of drainage pipes. OWTS are predominantly designed to provide primary treatment during which organic wastes and suspended solids in household sewage settle to the bottom of septic tanks where they are partially degraded by microorganisms. Because OWTS are not designed to effectively remove nutrients, the liquid effluents of septic tanks are among the largest sources of nitrogen (N) pollution for shallow groundwater aquifers as they leak into the surrounding subsurface soils. The overarching goal of this CAREER project is to explore the development and validation of the next generation of biofiltration systems for nitrogen (N) removal from OWTS. To advance this goal, the Principal Investigator proposes to test the hypothesis that biofiltration systems based on the integration of anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox) microbiomes with sorbents such as biochar could provide efficient and cost-effective solutions for N removal from the liquid effluents of septic tanks. The successful completion of this project will benefit society through the generation of new fundamental knowledge to support the development and deployment of more efficient and sustainable solutions to manage and mitigate N pollution from households and other facilities that are not connected to centralized wastewater treatment systems. Additional benefits to society will be achieved through student education and training including the mentoring of one graduate student and one undergraduate student at Stony Brook University.Soil-based biofiltration systems have emerged as promising add-on modules to onsite wastewater treatment systems for the removal of nitrogen (N) from the effluents of septic tanks. However, current soil biofilters require a large footprint and an external carbon source (e.g., woodchips) to stimulate and support the growth and metabolic activity of denitrifying microorganisms. This CAREER project will explore the development of novel soil biofilters for N removal based on a hybrid physical/chemical and biological treatment process that integrates biochar sorbents with anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox) microbiomes. The proposed research builds upon the results of previous investigations that have established that anammox microbiomes play a critical role in the conversion of N compounds to dinitrogen (N2) gas in soils, wetlands, and marine/freshwater sediments. The specific objectives of the research are to: 1) investigate the partial denitrification/anammox (PDN/An) of N compounds in model biofiltration units using biochar as sorbents and microbiome carriers; 2) evaluate the effects of operational changes and environmental parameters on the efficiency of PDN/An biofiltration units and, 3) investigate and optimize the operation of a modular biofiltration system for efficient N removal and evaluate the system’s long-term performance using molecular tools and kinetic modeling. The successful completion of this project has the potential for transformative impact through the generation of new fundamental knowledge to advance the development and implementation of more efficient soil-based biofilters for removing N from the liquid effluents of onsite wastewater treatment systems. To implement the educational and outreach activities of this CAREER project, the Principal Investigator (PI) proposes to leverage existing programs and resources at Stony Brook University (SBU) to develop and deliver new learning opportunities in environmental engineering (EE) for K-12, undergraduate, and graduate students with a focus on engaging female students. The proposed education and outreach activities will include 1) a one-week summer program to provide Long Island middle school students (7-9th Grade) with hands-on learning activities in engineering and technology and 2) a 10-week outreach program during the academic year to host 5-10 female students and introduce them to the science and engineering of soil-based biofiltration systems for onsite wastewater treatment. In addition, the PI plans to develop and host a monthly environmental engineering seminar designed to expose SBU students to a broad range of perspectives and expertise to increase their breadth and depth of knowledge in EEThis award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

美国和世界各地的数百万家庭依赖现场系统进行废水处理和处置。传统的现场废水处理系统（OWTS）通常由连接到沥滤场的化粪池组成，以通过排水管道网络将液体流出物输送和处理到周围土壤中。OWTS主要用于提供初级处理，在此期间，家庭污水中的有机废物和悬浮固体沉降到化粪池底部，在那里它们被微生物部分降解。由于OWTS的设计不能有效地去除营养物质，化粪池的液体流出物是浅层地下水含水层氮（N）污染的最大来源之一，因为它们泄漏到周围的地下土壤中。该CAREER项目的总体目标是探索下一代生物过滤系统的开发和验证，用于OWTS的脱氮（N）。为了推进这一目标，主要研究者提出了一个假设，即基于厌氧氨氧化（anammox）微生物组与生物炭等吸附剂整合的生物过滤系统可以为化粪池液体流出物中的氮去除提供有效且具有成本效益的解决方案。该项目的成功完成将通过产生新的基础知识来支持开发和部署更有效和可持续的解决方案，以管理和减轻未连接到集中式污水处理系统的家庭和其他设施的氮污染，从而使社会受益。通过学生教育和培训，包括指导斯托尼布鲁克大学的一名研究生和一名本科生，将为社会带来额外的好处。土壤生物过滤系统已成为现场废水处理系统的有前途的附加模块，用于去除化粪池流出物中的氮（N）。然而，目前的土壤生物过滤器需要大的足迹和外部碳源（例如，木片）以刺激和支持微生物的生长和代谢活性。该CAREER项目将探索开发新型土壤生物过滤器，用于基于混合物理/化学和生物处理过程的脱氮，该过程将生物炭吸附剂与厌氧氨氧化（anammox）微生物相结合。拟议的研究建立在以前的调查结果的基础上，这些调查已经确定，厌氧氨氧化微生物在土壤，湿地和海洋/淡水沉积物中将N化合物转化为二氮（N2）气体方面发挥着关键作用。本研究的具体目标是：1）以生物炭为吸附剂和微生物菌群载体，研究生物过滤单元中含氮化合物的部分反硝化/厌氧氨氧化（PDN/An）; 2）评估操作变化和环境参数对PDN/An生物过滤单元效率的影响，3）研究和优化模块化生物过滤系统的运行，以实现高效脱氮，并使用分子工具和动力学模型评估系统的长期性能。该项目的成功完成有可能通过产生新的基础知识来推动更有效的土壤生物过滤器的开发和实施，从而产生变革性的影响，以从现场废水处理系统的液体流出物中去除氮。为了实施这个职业项目的教育和推广活动，主要研究者（PI）建议利用斯托尼布鲁克大学（SBU）的现有计划和资源，为K-12，本科生和研究生开发和提供环境工程（EE）的新学习机会，重点是吸引女学生。拟议的教育和外展活动将包括1）为期一周的暑期课程，为长岛中学生（7- 9年级）提供工程和技术方面的实践学习活动; 2）学年期间为期10周的外展课程，接待5-10名女学生，并向她们介绍用于现场废水处理的土壤生物过滤系统的科学和工程。此外，PI计划开发和主办每月一次的环境工程研讨会，旨在使SBU学生接触广泛的观点和专业知识，以增加他们在EE方面知识的广度和深度。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并被认为值得通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估来支持。