Chronic Response of Waste Activated Sludge Fermentation to Titanium Dioxide Nanoparticles

doi:10.1016/j.cjche.2014.09.007

摘要/Abstract

摘要： Due to the large-scale production and wide applications,many nanoparticles (NPs) enter wastewater treatment plants and accumulate in activated sludge. It is reported that titaniumdioxide (TiO₂) NPs showsevere damage to many model microbes. However, it is still unknown whether the long-term (e.g., 100 d) presence of TiO₂ NPs would affect the performance of sludge fermentation. In this study, long-term exposure experiments (105 d) were conducted to investigate the potential risk of TiO₂ NPs to sludge fermentation system. It is found that the presence of environmentally relevant [6 mg·(g TSS)^-1] and higher [150 mg·(g TSS)^-1] concentrations of TiO₂ NPs does not affect methane production fromsludge fermentation. The analysis of fluorescence in situ hybridization indicates that these concentrations of TiO₂ NPs present marginal influences on abundances of bacteria and methanogenic archaea in sludge fermentation system. The viability of sludge microorganisms and activities of key enzymes related tomethane production such as protease, acetate kinase, and coenzyme F₄₂₀ are unchanged by the long-term presence of 6 and 150 mg·(g TSS)^-1 of TiO₂ NPs. Further investigations reveal that the insolubility of NPs and the protection role of sludge extracellular polymeric substances are the main reasons for the marginal influence of TiO₂ NPs on sludge fermentation.

关键词: Titanium dioxide nanoparticles, Waste activated sludge, Fermentation, Long-term effect, Mechanism

Abstract: Due to the large-scale production and wide applications,many nanoparticles (NPs) enter wastewater treatment plants and accumulate in activated sludge. It is reported that titaniumdioxide (TiO₂) NPs showsevere damage to many model microbes. However, it is still unknown whether the long-term (e.g., 100 d) presence of TiO₂ NPs would affect the performance of sludge fermentation. In this study, long-term exposure experiments (105 d) were conducted to investigate the potential risk of TiO₂ NPs to sludge fermentation system. It is found that the presence of environmentally relevant [6 mg·(g TSS)^-1] and higher [150 mg·(g TSS)^-1] concentrations of TiO₂ NPs does not affect methane production fromsludge fermentation. The analysis of fluorescence in situ hybridization indicates that these concentrations of TiO₂ NPs present marginal influences on abundances of bacteria and methanogenic archaea in sludge fermentation system. The viability of sludge microorganisms and activities of key enzymes related tomethane production such as protease, acetate kinase, and coenzyme F₄₂₀ are unchanged by the long-term presence of 6 and 150 mg·(g TSS)^-1 of TiO₂ NPs. Further investigations reveal that the insolubility of NPs and the protection role of sludge extracellular polymeric substances are the main reasons for the marginal influence of TiO₂ NPs on sludge fermentation.

Key words: Titanium dioxide nanoparticles, Waste activated sludge, Fermentation, Long-term effect, Mechanism

Yinguang Chen, Hui Mu, Xiong Zheng. Chronic Response of Waste Activated Sludge Fermentation to Titanium Dioxide Nanoparticles[J]. , 2014, 22(10): 1162-1167.

参考文献

[1] Y. Wang, X. Xue, H. Yang, Synthesis and antimicrobial activity of boron-doped titania nano-materials, Chin. J. Chem. Eng. 22 (4) (2014) 474-479.
[2] Q. Yang, Y. Liao, L. Mao, Kinetics of photocatalytic degradation of gaseous organic compounds on modified TiO₂/AC composite photocatalyst, Chin. J. Chem. Eng. 20 (3) (2012) 572-576.
[3] A. Nel, T. Xia, L. Madler, N. Li, Toxic potential of materials at the nanolevel, Science 311 (5761) (2006) 622-627.
[4] X. Zheng, Y. Chen, R. Wu, Long-term effects of titanium dioxide nanoparticles on nitrogen and phosphorus removal from wastewater and bacterial community shift in activated sludge, Environ. Sci. Technol. 45 (17) (2011) 7284-7290.
[5] L.K. Adams, D.Y. Lyon, P.J.J. Alvarez, Comparative eco-toxicity of nanoscale TiO₂, SiO₂, and ZnO water suspensions, Water Res. 40 (19) (2006) 3527-3532.
[6] V. Aruoja, H.C. Dubourguier, K. Kasemets, A. Kahru, Toxicity of nanoparticles of CuO, ZnO and TiO₂ to microalgae Pseudokirchneriella subcapitata, Sci. Total Environ. 407 (4) (2009) 1461-1468.
[7] P. Kocbek, K. Teskac,M.E. Kreft, J. Kristl, Toxicological aspects of long-termtreatment of Keratinocytes with ZnO and TiO₂ nanoparticles, Small 6 (17) (2010) 1908-1917.
[8] M. Heinlaan, A. Ivask, I. Blinova, H.C. Dubourguier, A. Kahru, Toxicity of nanosized and bulk ZnO, CuO and TiO₂ to bacteria Vibrio fischeri and crustaceans Daphnia magna and Thamnocephalus platyurus, Chemosphere 71 (7) (2008) 1308-1316.
[9] K. Kasemets, A. Ivask, H.C. Dubourguier, A. Kahru, Toxicity of nanoparticles of ZnO, CuO and TiO₂ to yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Toxicol. in Vitro 23 (6) (2009) 1116-1122.
[10] M.A. Kiser, P. Westerhoff, T. Benn, Y. Wang, J. Perez-Rivera, K. Hristovski, Titanium nanomaterial removal and release from wastewater treatment plants, Environ. Sci. Technol. 43 (17) (2009) 6757-6763.
[11] S.K. Brar, M. Verma, R.D. Tyagi, R.Y. Surampalli, Engineered nanoparticles in wastewater and wastewater sludge—evidence and impacts, Waste Manag. 30 (3) (2010) 504-520.
[12] Y. Chen, Y. Su, X. Zheng, H. Chen, H. Yang, Alumina nanoparticles-induced effects on wastewater nitrogen and phosphorus removal after short-term and long-term exposure, Water Res. 46 (14) (2012) 4379-4386.
[13] M.A. Kiser,H. Ryu, H.Y. Jang, K.Hristovski, P.Westerhoff, Biosorption of nanoparticles to heterotrophic wastewater biomass, Water Res. 44 (14) (2010) 4105-4114.
[14] A. Garcia, L. Delgado, J.A. Tora, E. Casals, E. Gonzalez, V. Puntes, X. Font, J. Carrera, A. Sanchez, Effect of cerium dioxide, titanium dioxide, silver, and gold nanoparticles on the activity of microbial communities intended in wastewater treatment, J. Hazard. Mater. 199 (2012) 64-72.
[15] A.A. Keller, H. Wang, D. Zhou, H.S. Lenihan, G. Cherr, B.J. Cardinale, R. Miller, Z. Ji, Stability and aggregation of metal oxide nanoparticles in natural aqueous matrices, Environ. Sci. Technol. 44 (6) (2010) 1962-1967.
[16] USEPA Targeted National Sewage Sludge Survey Sampling and Analysis Technical Report; U.S. Environmental Protection Agency: Washington, DC; http://www.epa. gov/waterscience/biosolids/tnsss-tech.pdf.
[17] L. Nyberg, R.F. Turco, L. Nies, Assessing the impact of nanomaterials on anaerobic microbial communities, Environ. Sci. Technol. 42 (6) (2008) 1938-1943.
[18] Y. Zhao, Y. Chen, D. Zhang, X. Zhu, Waste activated sludge fermentation for hydrogen production enhanced by anaerobic process improvement and acetobacteria inhibition: the role of fermentation pH, Environ. Sci. Technol. 44 (9) (2010) 3317-3323.
[19] H. Yuan, Y. Chen, H. Zhang, S. Jiang, Q. Zhou, G. Gu, Improved bioproduction of shortchain fatty acids (SCFAs) from excess sludge under alkaline conditions, Environ. Sci. Technol. 40 (6) (2006) 2025-2029.
[20] H. Mu, Y. Chen, Effects of metal oxide nanoparticles (TiO₂, Al₂O₃, SiO₂ and ZnO) on waste activated sludge anaerobic digestion, Bioresour. Technol. 102 (22) (2011) 10305-10311.
[21] H. Mu, Y. Chen, Long-term effect of ZnO nanoparticles on waste activated sludge anaerobic digestion, Water Res. 45 (17) (2011) 5612-5620.
[22] M. Ledoux, F. Lamy, Determination of proteins and sulfobetaine with the folin- phenol reagent, Anal. Biochem. 157 (1) (1986) 28-31.
[23] M.J. Delafontaine, H.P. Naveau, E.J. Nyns, Fluorimetricmonitoring ofmethanogenesis in anaerobic digesters, Biotechnol. Lett. 1 (1979) 71-73.
[24] R.I. Amann, W.M.W. Gish, E.W. Myers, D.J. Lipman, Combination of 16S rRNAtargeted oligonucleotide probes with flowcytometry for analyzing mixed microbial populations, Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 56 (1990) 1919-1925.
[25] D.A. Stahl, B. Flesher, H.R. Mansfield, L. Montgomery, Use of phylogenetically based hybridization probes for studies of ruminal microbial ecology, Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 54 (1988) 1079-1084.
[26] M.T. Garcia, E. Campos, J. Sanchez-Leal, I. Ribosa, Effect of linear alkylbenzene sulphonates (LAS) on the anaerobic digestion of sewage sludge, Water Res. 40 (15) (2006) 2958-2964.
[27] D.C. Stuckey, W.F. Owen, P.L. McCarty, G.F. Parkin, Anaerobic toxicity evaluation by batch and semi-continuous assays,Water Pollut. Control Fed. 52 (4) (1980) 720-729.
[28] Y.Ge, J.P. Schimel, P.A. Holden, Evidence for negative effects of TiO₂ and ZnO nanoparticles on soil bacterial communities, Environ. Sci. Technol. 45 (4) (2011) 1659-1664.
[29] J.M. Worle-Knirsch, K. Pulskamp, H.F. Krug, Oops they did it again! Carbon nanotubes hoax scientists in viability assays, Nano Lett. 6 (6) (2006) 1261-1268.
[30] L.K. Braydich-Stolle,N.M. Schaeublin, R.C. Murdock, J. Jiang, P. Biswas, J.J. Schlager, S.M. Hussain, Crystal structuremediates mode of cell death in TiO₂ nanotoxicity, J. Nanopart. Res. 11 (6) (2009) 1361-1374.
[31] N.M. Franklin, N.J. Rogers, S.C. Apte, G.E. Batley, G.E. Gadd, P.S. Casey, Comparative toxicity of nanoparticulate ZnO, bulk ZnO, and ZnCl₂ to a freshwater microalga (Pseudokirchneriella subcapitata): the importance of particle solubility, Environ. Sci. Technol. 41 (24) (2007) 8484-8490.
[32] C.W. Lee, S. Mahendra, K. Zodrow, D. Li, Y.C. Tsai, J. Braam, P.J.J. Alvarez, Developmental phytotoxicity of metal oxide nanoparticles to Arabidopsis thaliana, Environ. Toxicol. Chem. 29 (3) (2010) 669-675.
[33] T. Xia, M. Kovochich, M. Liong, L. Madler, B. Gilbert, H. Shi, J. Yeh, J.I. Zink, A.E. Nel, Comparison of the mechanism of toxicity of zinc oxide and cerium oxide nanoparticles based on dissolution and oxidative stress properties, ACS Nano 2 (10) (2008) 2121-2134.
[34] S. George, S. Pokhrel, T. Xia, B. Gilbert, Z.X. Ji, M. Schowalter, A. Rosenauer, R. Damoiseaux, K.A. Bradley, L. Madler, A.E. Nel, Use of a rapid cytotoxicity screening approach to engineer a safer zinc oxide nanoparticle through iron doping, ACS Nano 4 (1) (2010) 15-29.
[35] R. Brayner, R. Ferrari-Iliou, N. Brivois, S. Djediat,M.F. Benedetti, F. Fievet, Toxicological impact studies based on Escherichia coli bacteria in ultrafine ZnO nanoparticles colloidal medium, Nano Lett. 6 (4) (2006) 866-870.
[36] I.D.S. Henriques, N.G. Love, The role of extracellular polymeric substances in the toxicity response of activated sludge bacteria to chemical toxins, Water Res. 41 (18) (2007) 4177-4185.
[37] L.A. Luongo, X.Q. Zhang, Toxicity of carbon nanotubes to the activated sludge process, J. Hazard. Mater. 178 (1-3) (2010) 356-362.