Wastewater Biorefinery: Treatment and Resource Mining

每年有超过10亿人受到水污染引起的水媒疾病（腹泻、伤寒等）的影响。根据2016年加拿大环境与气候变化现状报告，加拿大排放的废水总量中有18亿立方米不符合废水系统排放法规（WSER）的质量标准，超过17%的废水处理（WWT）系统未能通过急性致死测试。我们现在面临的新挑战超出了管理WSER规定的传统污染物。我们还必须减少营养物质（氮和磷），并管理越来越多的非常规不受管制污染物，这些污染物统称为新出现的关注污染物（CECs），如药品和个人护理产品。在污水处理过程中，由于去除效果不佳，CECs会释放到地表水中，威胁饮用水质量，并对人类健康和环境产生不利影响。好氧颗粒污泥（AGS）是一项新技术，与传统活性污泥（CAS）相比具有显著的优势。好氧颗粒是微生物的聚集体，在细胞外聚合物（EPS）基质中无需载体介质即可自固定。AGS提供在一个反应器内同时去除有机物和营养物质，最多可减少75%的空间，节省高达50%的能源，优越的出水质量，对毒素的耐受性更强。然而，由于缺乏对生物膜形成的基本机制的了解，造粒周期长，以及AGS的分解，阻碍了该技术的实际应用和效益的实现。我的研究将解决学术文献中的几个关键空白。发现反应器运行条件、废水（WW）组成、微生物群落和EPS生产之间的联系，将有助于加深对颗粒生物膜基本机制的理解，并将为从废弃AGS中回收增值非能量载体产品开辟新的研究途径。我的项目包括三个主要目标：1)开发基于功能生物选择性富集的生物膜工艺，并研究基本的微生物相互作用。2)探索从废AGS中回收增值胞外聚合物和磷，以及EPS提取对污泥消化率的影响。3)设计一种综合ags -生物吸附法去除选定的CECs。这些目标将通过基于系统工程、微生物学和分析化学实验方法的多管齐下的方法系统地解决。该提议的技术平台将通过开发一种新的生物强化处理方法和回收高价值产品来彻底改变污水处理厂，从而创建下一代污水处理厂（WWTPs），由以摇篮到摇篮为基础的经济驱动。

Every year, over one billion people are affected by waterborne diseases (diarrhea, typhoid, etc.) caused by water pollution. According to the 2016 Environment and Climate Change Canada status report, 1.8 billion m3 of the total effluent discharged across Canada did not meet quality standards under Wastewater Systems Effluent Regulations (WSER), with more than 17 % of wastewater treatment (WWT) systems failing the acute lethality test. We are now facing new challenges beyond the management of WSER- regulated conventional contaminants. We must also reduce nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus) and manage a growing list of non-conventional unregulated contaminants, collectively termed contaminants of emerging concern (CECs), such as pharmaceuticals and personal care products. Ineffective removal during WWT releases CECs into surface waters, threatening drinking water quality and adversely impacting human health and the environment. Aerobic granular sludge (AGS) is a novel technology that has shown significant advantages over conventional activated sludge (CAS). Aerobic granules are aggregates of microorganisms that are self-immobilized without carrier media in a matrix of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS). AGS offers simultaneous removal of organic matter and nutrients within one reactor, up to a 75 % space reduction, up to 50 % energy savings, superior effluent quality, and greater tolerance to toxins. However, lack of understanding of the fundamental mechanisms governing biofilm formation, the long granulation period, and disintegration of AGS are hindering the practical application and realization of the benefits offered by this technology. My research will address several key gaps in the academic literature. Finding the links among reactor operating conditions, wastewater (WW) composition, microbial community, and EPS production will provide an enhanced understanding of the fundamental mechanisms of granular biofilms and will open a new avenue of research that targets the recovery of value-added non-energy-carrier products from waste AGS. My program encompasses three main objectives: 1) Develop a biofilm process based on the selective enrichment of functional organisms and investigate the fundamental microbial interactions. 2) Explore the recovery of value-added extracellular polymers and phosphorus from waste AGS as well as the effects of EPS extraction on sludge digestibility. 3) Devise an integrated AGS-bioadsorption method for the removal of select CECs. These objectives will be addressed systematically through a multi-pronged approach based on systems engineering, microbiology, and analytical chemistry experimental methods. The proposed technological platform will revolutionize WWT through the development of a novel bioaugmentation treatment method and the recovery of high-value products, leading to the creation of next-generation WWT plants (WWTPs) driven by a cradle-to-cradle-based economy.