Review
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Xi Bai, Inez J. T. Dinkla, Gerard Muyzer
Summary: Biofiltration is a crucial water treatment technology for producing safe drinking water. It is gaining worldwide interest due to its advantages of no chemical addition, low energy input, and high removal efficiency of organic compounds, undesirable taste and odours, and pathogens. This review highlights the microbial ecology of three commonly used biofiltration processes in drinking water treatment plants and summarizes their characteristics, removal performance, and newly revealed mechanisms. It also discusses the role of microbial communities in removing nutrients, organic compounds, and pathogens, and suggests future perspectives for a comprehensive understanding of the microbial ecology of biofiltration.
APPLIED MICROBIOLOGY AND BIOTECHNOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
A. Harjung, J. Schweichhart, G. Rasch, C. Griebler
Summary: This study examined the properties of dissolved organic matter (DOM) in terrestrial groundwater on a large scale, considering surface characteristics, aquifer characteristics, and microbial features. The results showed that DOM fluorescence components in groundwater are similar to those found in other studies, with associations to land use and nitrate concentrations. Clusters with higher bacterial abundance were correlated to high-molecular weight and humic components, indicating a surface origin for suspended bacteria. The study suggests that DOM fluorescence can be used as a fast monitoring tool to identify groundwater aquifers under anthropogenic stress and delineate sensitive recharge areas.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Jo De Vrieze, Robert Heyer, Ruben Props, Lieven Van Meulebroek, Karen Gille, Lynn Vanhaecke, Dirk Benndorf, Nico Boon
Summary: This study compared four different microbial community fingerprinting methods for characterizing the full-scale anaerobic digestion microbiome, with cytometric fingerprinting through flow cytometry proving to be a reliable, fast method for holistic monitoring. The complementary identification of key features through other methods could give rise to a direct interpretation of anaerobic digestion process performance.
Article
Microbiology
Stephen Knobloch, Alexandra Maria Klonowski, Sigrun Tomasdottir, Bjarni Reyr Kristjansson, Sverrir Gudmundsson, Viggo Por Marteinsson
Summary: Groundwater is a vital resource for safe drinking water supply, but unconfined aquifers can be vulnerable to microbial contamination during extreme weather events. This study in South-West Iceland found that the microbial community in groundwater can change during surface runoff, highlighting the potential risk of contamination during such events.
FEMS MICROBIOLOGY ECOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Goraw Goshu, A. A. Koelmans, J. J. M. de Klein
Summary: The study assessed the adequacy of faecal indicator bacteria in the high-altitude, tropical country of Ethiopia and found that Escherichia coli and Clostridium perfringens are effective indicators for faecal contamination monitoring. Most of the sub-basins of Lake Tana were found to be polluted to varying degrees, with markers associated with ruminants being widely detected.
ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION
(2021)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Ghadeer Hasanin, Ana Maria Mosquera, Abdul-Hamid Emwas, Thomas Altmann, Ratul Das, Paulus J. Buijs, Johannes S. Vrouwenvelder, Graciela Gonzalez-Gil
Summary: It has been 20 years since the first report on the biofouling potential of chemicals used for scale control, yet high bacterial growth potential antiscalants are still being used. Evaluating the bacterial growth potential of commercially available antiscalants is crucial for their rational selection. Previous tests were conducted with model bacterial species that do not represent natural bacterial communities. To better reflect the conditions of desalination systems, this study investigated the bacterial growth potential of eight antiscalants in natural seawater and an autochthonous bacterial population. The antiscalants showed varying bacterial growth potentials, with phosphonate-based antiscalants exhibiting a broad range and biopolymer and carboxylated polymers-based antiscalants showing limited or no bacterial growth. Furthermore, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) scans allowed for antiscalant fingerprinting and identification of components and contaminants, enabling rapid and sensitive characterization and rational selection for biofouling control.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Liting Hao, Yongjie Liu, Nan Chen, Xiaodi Hao, Baogang Zhang, Chuanping Feng
Summary: This study demonstrates that using pine sawdust as a sole carbon source, combined with the addition of medical stone and phosphate rock, can effectively enhance microbial removal efficiency of V(V). Microbiological analysis showed that certain microbes contribute to the reduction of V(V) and specific functional species aid in the degradation of sawdust. The research provides a potential approach for microbially removing V(V) from contaminated groundwater and managing agricultural and forestry waste.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2021)
Article
Engineering, Chemical
Qiuting Yan, Zhenjun Zhang, Zuliang Chen
Summary: In this study, microbial synthesized iron nanoparticles after the recovery of rare earth elements (FeNPs/REEs) were used as an environmentally friendly material to remove arsenic from mine groundwater. The removal efficiencies of FeNPs/REEs were higher than those of FeNPs, and the removal mechanism involved surface complexation, oxidation, electrostatic, and ion exchange. The study provides new insights into the use of FeNPs/REEs for groundwater remediation.
SEPARATION AND PURIFICATION TECHNOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Microbiology
Firas S. Midani, Lawrence A. David
Summary: Cross feeding between microbes is widespread but not fully understood. In this study, a multicolor flow cytometry combined with a machine learning-based classifier was used to rapidly quantify species abundances in simple microbial communities. The results showed evidence of cooperation and competition within the community, as well as the impact of different sugars on microbial productivity and community diversity. This approach provides an economic and tractable model system for studying microbial ecology and can be extended to more species and complex environments.
FRONTIERS IN MICROBIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Microbiology
Lindsay Putman, Mary C. Sabuda, William J. Brazelton, Michael D. Kubo, Tori M. Hoehler, Tom M. McCollom, Dawn Cardace, Matthew O. Schrenk
Summary: This study demonstrates that low diversity microbial communities in a hard-rock serpentinizing aquifer are assembled under the influence of strong selective processes imposed by high pH and enhanced ecological drift that occurs as the result of dispersal limitation due to the slow movement of water in the low permeability aquifer.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Lamia Yebdri, Fatiha Hadji, Yahia Harek, Abbas Marok
Summary: The quality of groundwater and surface water used for human consumption in the Tafna watershed is degraded due to contaminants from anthropogenic sources, with nitrate and chloride being the most common pollutants. Groundwater in the middle Tafna sub-watershed exceeds safety limits for nitrate content, while surface water in the upper Tafna sub-watershed shows less worrying levels of contamination for human consumption. Overall, water in both sub-watersheds presents low sodium hazard and moderate to high salinity hazard for irrigation purposes.
ENVIRONMENTAL EARTH SCIENCES
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Huiyang Wen, Hui Zhu, Yingying Xu, Baixing Yan, Brian Shutes, Gary Banuelos, Xinyi Wang
Summary: This study found that glucose outperformed other carbon sources in MFC-CWs, with moderate concentration (200 mg L-1) resulting in the best removal of SMX and TC. The highest removal percentages of SMX and TC were obtained in MFC-CWs with an external resistance of 700 Omega. Aeration for 12 hours was shown to improve the removal efficiency of antibiotics in MFC-CWs.
ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION
(2021)
Review
Engineering, Chemical
Jorien Favere, Raquel G. Barbosa, Tom Sleutels, Willy Verstraete, Bart De Gusseme, Nico Boon
Summary: Human activities and climate change can degrade freshwater quality and availability, impacting the biostability of drinking water. The traditional strategies of using disinfectants and removing organic carbon may not be sufficient in maintaining a steady and high-quality drinking water supply in the future. Therefore, it is necessary to reconsider the concept of drinking water biostability as a dynamic equilibrium based on nutrient availability and bacterial community composition.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Jade S. T. Ward, Daniel J. Lapworth, Daniel S. Read, Steve Pedley, Sembeyawo T. Banda, Maurice Monjerezi, Gloria Gwengweya, Alan M. MacDonald
Summary: Regular monitoring of drinking water quality is crucial to prevent waterborne diseases. Testing for microbial contamination is important, especially in low-resource settings. Tryptophan-like fluorescence (TLF) shows potential as a rapid method for detecting microbial contamination in drinking water sources.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2021)
Article
Microbiology
Clarisse Marotz, James T. Morton, Perris Navarro, Joanna Coker, Pedro Belda-Ferre, Rob Knight, Karsten Zengler
Summary: This study successfully quantified the number of live microbial cells in the oral cavity using flow cytometry and relic DNA removal method in conjunction with metagenomic sequencing. The results showed an inverse correlation between live microbial load and salivary flow rate, with significant fluctuations throughout the day. These findings provide new insights for longitudinal study designs and microbial composition analysis.
Article
Energy & Fuels
Jannis Epting, Matteo Baralis, Rouven Kunze, Matthias H. Mueller, Alessandra Insana, Marco Barla, Peter Huggenberger
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Jannis Epting, Fabian Bottcher, Matthias H. Mueller, Alejandro Garcia-Gil, Kai Zosseder, Peter Huggenberger
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Tunde Olarinoye, Tom Gleeson, Vera Marx, Stefan Seeger, Rouhollah Adinehvand, Vincenzo Allocca, Bartolome Andreo, James Apaestegui, Christophe Apolit, Bruno Arfib, Augusto Auler, Juan Antonio Barbera, Christelle Batiot-Guilhe, Timothy Bechtel, Stephane Binet, Daniel Bittner, Matej Blatnik, Terry Bolger, Pascal Brunet, Jean-Baptiste Charlier, Zhao Chen, Gabriele Chiogna, Gemma Coxon, Pantaleone De Vita, Joanna Doummar, Jannis Epting, Matthieu Fournier, Nico Goldscheider, John Gunn, Fang Guo, Jean Loup Guyot, Nicholas Howden, Peter Huggenberger, Brian Hunt, Pierre-Yves Jeannin, Guanghui Jiang, Greg Jones, Herve Jourde, Ivo Karmann, Oliver Koit, Jannes Kordilla, David Labat, Bernard Ladouche, Isabella Serena Liso, Zaihua Liu, Nicolas Massei, Naomi Mazzilli, Matias Mudarra, Mario Parise, Junbin Pu, Natasa Ravbar, Liz Hidalgo Sanchez, Antonio Santo, Martin Sauter, Vianney Sivelle, Rannveig Ovrevik Skoglund, Zoran Stevanovic, Cameron Wood, Stephen Worthington, Andreas Hartmann
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Markus Theel, Peter Huggenberger, Kai Zosseder
HYDROGEOLOGY JOURNAL
(2020)
Correction
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Tunde Olarinoye, Tom Gleeson, Vera Marx, Stefan Seeger, Rouhollah Adinehvand, Vincenzo Allocca, Bartolome Andreo, James Apaestegui, Christophe Apolit, Bruno Arfib, Augusto Auler, Vincent Bailly-Comte, Juan Antonio Barbera, Christelle Batiot-Guilhe, Timothy Bechtel, Stephane Binet, Daniel Bittner, Matej Blatnik, Terry Bolger, Pascal Brunet, Jean-Baptiste Charlier, Zhao Chen, Gabriele Chiogna, Gemma Coxon, Pantaleone De Vita, Joanna Doummar, Jannis Epting, Perrine Fleury, Matthieu Fournier, Nico Goldscheider, John Gunn, Fang Guo, Jean Loup Guyot, Nicholas Howden, Peter Huggenberger, Brian Hunt, Pierre-Yves Jeannin, Guanghui Jiang, Greg Jones, Herve Jourde, Ivo Karmann, Oliver Koit, Jannes Kordilla, David Labat, Bernard Ladouche, Isabella Serena Liso, Zaihua Liu, Jean-Christophe Marechal, Nicolas Massei, Naomi Mazzilli, Matias Mudarra, Mario Parise, Junbing Pu, Natasa Ravbar, Liz Hidalgo Sanchez, Antonio Santo, Martin Sauter, Jean-Luc Seidel, Vianney Sivelle, Rannveig Ovrevik Skoglund, Zoran Stevanovic, Cameron Wood, Stephen Worthington, Andreas Hartmann
Article
Environmental Sciences
Emmanuelle I. Prest, Peter G. Schaap, Michael D. Besmer, Frederik Hammes
Summary: Spatial and short-term temporal changes in water quality in a drinking water distribution system were investigated, showing the combined effect of water age and fluctuating hydraulic conditions on microbiology and the impact of flow velocity on particle counts and turbidity. Hydraulic conditions had no detectable impact on suspended microbial cell concentration, but a weak correlation between flow velocity and ATP concentrations suggests incidental resuspension of particle-bound bacteria. The highly dynamic hydraulic conditions emphasize the value of online monitoring tools for describing short-term dynamics in drinking water distribution systems.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Stefan Scheidler, Peter Huggenberger, Horst Dresmann, Adrian Auckenthaler, Jannis Epting
Summary: The study in the Rhine Valley and Tabular Jura east of Basel, Switzerland revealed that groundwater circulation was influenced by geological settings, with increased groundwater recharge leading to significant inflow into the Upper Muschelkalk karst aquifer. This results in fluctuations in groundwater flow and saturation regions within the karst aquifer.
ENVIRONMENTAL EARTH SCIENCES
(2021)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Stefania Russo, Michael D. Besmer, Frank Blumensaat, Damien Bouffard, Andy Disch, Frederik Hammes, Angelika Hess, Moritz Lurig, Blake Matthews, Camille Minaudo, Eberhard Morgenroth, Viet Tran-Khac, Kris Villez
Summary: Anomaly detection is the process of identifying unexpected data samples in datasets, which can be done using supervised or unsupervised machine learning models. The research community focused on environmental systems lacks a comprehensive and objective comparative analysis, which is addressed for the first time in this study.
Article
Microbiology
William J. Rhoads, Meril Sindelar, Celine Margot, Nadine Graf, Frederik Hammes
Summary: During the COVID-19 pandemic, the decrease in building occupancy and water demand raised concerns about the increased occurrence of Legionella and Legionnaires' disease. Many people flushed their water systems as a preventative measure, but the impact of low water demand on Legionella growth was found to be more complex than previously assumed. Flushing practices, particularly in boiler systems, may inadvertently mobilize Legionella present in biofilms and sediment.
Editorial Material
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Yu-Feng Forrest Lin, Corinna Abesser, Jannis Epting, Alejandro Garcia-Gil
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Epting Jannis, Love Raman Vinna, Affolter Annette, Scheidler Stefan, Oliver S. Schilling
Summary: Managed Aquifer Recharge (MAR) and Surface Water Recharge (MSWR) are effective strategies for climate change adaptation and have potential for thermal energy exploitation. However, adaptable implementation strategies of MAR and MSWR with concomitant exploitation of thermal energy potential have yet to be developed. This study presents strategies for the exploitation of hydrologic and energetic potentials of MAR and MSWR, taking into account hydrogeological conditions, legal aspects, and climate scenarios.
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Angelika Hess, Chiara Baum, Konstanze Schiessl, Michael D. Besmer, Frederik Hammes, Eberhard Morgenroth
Summary: Decentralized greywater treatment and reuse systems exhibit high variability in flow, leading to short-term fluctuations in effluent water quality that can be monitored and controlled with automated tools. Biofilm detachment in biological activated carbon filters can cause temporary increases in turbidity and cell concentrations in effluent, but this does not lead to an increase in opportunistic pathogens. Turbidity measurements are sensitive to changes in effluent quality caused by intermittent flow.
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Jannis Epting, Adrien Michel, Annette Affolter, Peter Huggenberger
Summary: Climate change will have varying impacts on groundwater resources depending on geological characteristics, recharge processes, and temperature trends. Urban areas are more likely to experience human-induced influences on groundwater temperatures, while rural areas are expected to be more affected by natural climate change patterns.
JOURNAL OF HYDROLOGY X
(2021)
