Coastal wastewater treatment plants often face multiple stressors (e.g., pharmaceuticals and oscillating seawater levels) simultaneously, and their combined effects on biological treatment systems are still largely underestimated. In this study, an aerobic granular sludge (AGS) reactor was challenged over a four-month period with wastewater that had daily fluctuations in seawater content (7.5 to 22.5 g/L) and o...
High salinity levels in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) can be attributed to multiple sources, including seawater intrusion in wastewater streams. In coastal WWTPs, this phenomenon is becoming more frequent, causing transient salinity shocks on the microbial populations involved in the treatment process. Aerobic granular sludge (AGS) has emerged as a revolutionary technology that has been adopted worldwide ...
Soil amendments and microbial inoculants can affect plant growth, water retention, and crop resilience. This study investigated the effects of two amendments, extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) and biochar, with and without bacterial inoculation, on maize (Zea mays) growth, irrigation needs, and physiological responses. Maize was cultivated in soil with 2.5 % and 5 % (w/w) of wet EPS (Kaumera®) or biochar...
Floating treatment wetland (FTW) are a nature-based solution delivering a wide range of ecosystem services when applied in water bodies, such as lakes and rivers. They are recognized for delivering biodiversity, aesthetic integration, and water quality enhancement through phytoremediation processes, although research is still needed to go deeper into the processes underlying the performance of these systems and...
The biodegradation of three per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), namely perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS), 6:2-fluorotelomer sulfonic acid (6:2 FTS), and 5:3-fluorotelomer carboxylic acid (5:3 FTCA), were evaluated using Labrys portucalensis F11, an aerobic bacteria known to defluorinate fluorine-containing compounds. Cultures of L. portucalensis F11 were grown in minimal salts media and treated with ...
Constructed wetlands systems (CWs) are increasingly regarded as promising alternatives or complements to conventional wastewater treatment processes. However, the fate of chemical and biological contaminants in realworld treatment processes is understudied in this type of systems. This study aimed to fill this gap by evaluating the response of three horizontal subsurface flow CWs, in Northern Portugal, planted ...
The biodegradation of Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) is important due to the environmental impact of plastic waste. This study investigates the degradation of PET films in soil microcosms, with and without mangrove plants, and with mangrove plants bioaugmented with a bacterial consortium (Bacillus sp.- GPB12 and Enterococcus sp.- WTP31B-5) while following the evolution of soil microcosm microbiome. The abilit...
Wastewater comprises various stressors and their individual and combined immediate effects on aerobic granular sludge (AGS) are still underexplored. In this study, the AGS was exposed for 24 hours to wastewater with varying salt concentrations (up to 30 g NaCl L⁻¹) alongside pharmaceuticals (diclofenac, DCF or carbamazepine, CBZ). Differences in extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) production and compositio...
Aerobic granular sludge (AGS) is a revolutionary biological treatment technology, which, due to its competitive advantages, has been increasingly implemented in full-scale wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). WWTPs are frequently challenged by multiple stressors, including pharmaceuticals and fluctuating salinity, which not only increase the complexity of wastewater but also impair the biological treatment perf...