title: Fate of trace organic contaminants in oxic-settling-anoxic (OSA) process applied for biosolids reduction during wastewater treatment.
abstract: This study investigated the fate of trace organic contaminants (TrOCs) in an oxic-settling-anoxic (OSA) process consisting of a sequencing batch reactor (SBR) with external aerobic/anoxic and anoxic reactors. OSA did not negatively affect TrOC removal of the SBR. Generally, low TrOC removal was observed under anoxic and low substrate conditions, implicating the role of co-metabolism in TrOC biodegradation. Several TrOCs that were recalcitrant in the SBR (e.g., benzotriazole) were biodegraded in the external aerobic/anoxic reactor. Some hydrophobic TrOCs (e.g., triclosan) were desorbed in the anoxic reactor possibly due to loss of sorption sites through volatile solids destruction. In OSA, the sludge was discharged from the aerobic/anoxic reactor which contained lower concentration of TrOCs (e.g., triclosan and triclocarban) than that of the control aerobic digester, suggesting that OSA can also help to reduce TrOC concentration in residual biosolids.
authors.affiliation: Strategic Water Infrastructure Laboratory, School of Civil, Mining and Environmental Engineering, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW 2522, Australia.
authors.forename: Galilee U
authors.initials: GU
authors.lastname: Semblante
authors.affiliation: Strategic Water Infrastructure Laboratory, School of Civil, Mining and Environmental Engineering, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW 2522, Australia. Electronic address: faisal@uow.edu.au.
authors.forename: Faisal I
authors.initials: FI
authors.lastname: Hai
authors.affiliation: Water Research Centre, The University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia.
authors.forename: James
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: McDonald
authors.affiliation: Water Research Centre, The University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia.
authors.forename: Stuart J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Khan
authors.affiliation: School of Mathematics and Applied Statistics, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW 2522, Australia.
authors.forename: Mark
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nelson
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical Engineering, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Duu-Jong
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Strategic Water Infrastructure Laboratory, School of Chemistry, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW 2522, Australia.
authors.forename: William E
authors.initials: WE
authors.lastname: Price
authors.affiliation: Strategic Water Infrastructure Laboratory, School of Civil, Mining and Environmental Engineering, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW 2522, Australia.
authors.forename: Long D
authors.initials: LD
authors.lastname: Nghiem
mesh_terms: D001673:Biodegradation, Environmental; D019149:Bioreactors; D012722:Sewage; D014865:Waste Disposal, Fluid; D062065:Wastewater
chemical_list: D012722:Sewage; D062065:Wastewater
keywords: Biodegradation; Biosolids yield reduction; Municipal wastewater; Oxic-settling-anoxic process; Sorption; Trace organic contaminants