Dataset Information

Adsorption of SARS-CoV-2 onto granular activated carbon (GAC) in wastewater: Implications for improvements in passive sampling.

ABSTRACT: Based on recent studies, passive sampling is a promising method for detecting SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater surveillance (WWS) applications. Passive sampling has many advantages over conventional sampling approaches. However, the potential benefits of passive sampling are also coupled with apparent limitations. We established a passive sampling technique for detecting severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in wastewater using electronegative filters. Though, it was evident that the adsorption capacity of the filters constrained their use. This work intends to demonstrate an optimized passive sampling technique for SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater using granular activated carbon (GAC). Through bench-scale batch-adsorption studies and sewershed deployments, we established the adsorption characteristics of SARS-CoV-2 and two human feacal viruses (PMMoV and CrAssphage) onto GAC. A pseudo-second-order model best-described adsorption kinetics for SARS-CoV-2 in either deionized (DI) water and SARS-CoV-2, CrAssphage, and PMMoV in wastewater. In both laboratory batch-adsorption experiments and in-situ sewershed deployments, the maximum amount of SARS-CoV-2 adsorbed by GAC occurred at ~60 h in wastewater. In wastewater, the maximum adsorption of PMMoV and CrAssphage by GAC occurred at ~60 h. In contrast, the adsorption capacity was reached in DI water seeded with SARS-CoV-2 after ~35 h. The equilibrium assay modeled the maximum adsorption quantity (q_max) in wastewater with spiked SARS-CoV-2 concentrations using a Hybrid Langmuir-Freundlich equation, a q_max of 2.5 × 10⁹ GU/g was calculated. In paired sewershed deployments, it was found that GAC adsorbs SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater more effectively than electronegative filters. Based on the anticipated viral loading in wastewater, bi-weekly sampling intervals with deployments up to ~96 h are highly feasible without reaching adsorption capacity with GAC. GAC offers improved sensitivity and reproducibility to capture SARS-CoV-2 RNA in wastewater, promoting a scalable and convenient alternative for capturing viral pathogens in wastewater.

SUBMITTER: Hayes EK

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9308143 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Adsorption of SARS-CoV-2 onto granular activated carbon (GAC) in wastewater: Implications for improvements in passive sampling.

Hayes Emalie K EK Stoddart Amina K AK Gagnon Graham A GA

The Science of the total environment 20220723

Based on recent studies, passive sampling is a promising method for detecting SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater surveillance (WWS) applications. Passive sampling has many advantages over conventional sampling approaches. However, the potential benefits of passive sampling are also coupled with apparent limitations. We established a passive sampling technique for detecting severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in wastewater using electronegative filters. Though, it was evident that ...[more]

PMID: 35882338

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Project description:This study measured chlorine- and chloramine-reactive precursors using formation potential (FP) tests of nine U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulated and 57 unregulated disinfection byproducts (DBPs) in tertiary-filtered wastewater before and after pilot-scale granular activated carbon (GAC) adsorption. Using breakthrough of precursor concentration and of concentration associated calculated cytotoxicity and genotoxicity (by correlating known lethal concentrations reported elsewhere), the performance of three parallel GAC treatment trains were compared against tertiary-filtered wastewater: ozone/GAC, chlorine/GAC, and GAC alone. Results show GAC alone was the primary process, versus ozone or chlorine alone, to remove the largest fraction of total chlorine- and chloramine-reactive DBP precursors and calculated cytotoxicity and genotoxicity potencies. GAC with pre-ozonation removed the most chlorine- and chloramine-reactive DBP precursors followed by GAC with pre-chlorination and lastly GAC without pre-treatment. GAC with pre-ozonation produced an effluent with cytotoxicity and genotoxicity of DBPs from FP that generally matched that of GAC without pre-oxidation; meanwhile removal of toxicity was greater by GAC with pre-chlorination. The cytotoxicity and genotoxicity of DBPs from FP tests did not scale with DBP concentration; for example, more than 90% of the calculated cytotoxicity resulted from 20% of the DBPs, principally from haloacetaldehydes, haloacetamides, and haloacetonitriles. The calculated cytotoxicity and genotoxicity from DBPs associated with FP-chloramination were at times higher than with FP-chlorination though the concentration of DBPs was five times higher with FP-chlorination. The removal of DBP precursors using GAC based treatment was at least as effective as removal of DOC (except for halonitromethanes for GAC without pre-oxidation and with pre-chlorination), indicating DOC can be used as an indicator for DBP precursor adsorption efficacy. However, the DOC was not a good surrogate for total cytotoxicity and genotoxicity breakthrough behavior, therefore, unregulated DBPs could have negative health implications that are disconnected from general water quality parameters, such as DOC, and regulated classes of DBPs. Instead, cytotoxicity and genotoxicity correlate with the concentration of specific classes of unregulated DBPs.

Project description:Nitrification and distillation of urine allow for the recovery of all nutrients in a highly concentrated fertilizer solution. However, pharmaceuticals excreted with urine are only partially removed during these two process steps. For a sustainable and safe application, more extensive removal of pharmaceuticals is necessary. To enhance the pharmaceutical removal, which is already occurring during urine storage, nitrification and distillation, an adsorption column with granular activated carbon (GAC) can be included in the treatment train. We executed a pilot-scale study to investigate the adsorption of eleven indicator pharmaceuticals on GAC. During 74 days, we treated roughly 1000 L of pre-filtered and nitrified urine spiked with pharmaceuticals in two flow-through GAC columns filled with different grain sizes. We compared the performance of these columns by calculating the number of treated bed volumes until breakthrough and carbon usage rates. The eleven spiked pharmaceuticals were candesartan, carbamazepine, clarithromycin, diclofenac, emtricitabine, hydrochlorothiazide, irbesartan, metoprolol, N4-acetylsulfamethoxazole, sulfamethoxazole and trimethoprim. At the shortest empty bed contact time (EBCT) of 25 min, immediate breakthrough was observed in both columns shortly after the start of the experiments. Strong competition by natural organic material (NOM) could have caused the low pharmaceutical removal at the EBCT of 25 min. At EBCTs of 70, 92 and 115 min, more than 660 bed volumes could be treated until breakthrough in the column with fine GAC. The earliest breakthrough was observed for candesartan and clarithromycin. On coarse GAC, only half the number of bed volumes could be treated until breakthrough compared to fine GAC. The probable reason for the later breakthrough with fine GAC is the smaller intraparticle diffusive path length. DOC and UV absorbance measurements at 265 nm indicated that both parameters can be used as indicators for the breakthrough of pharmaceuticals. In contrast to pharmaceuticals and DOC, the nutrient compounds ammonium, nitrate, phosphate, potassium and sulfate were not removed significantly. A comparison with literature values suggests that the amount of GAC needed to remove pharmaceuticals from human excreta could be reduced by nearly two orders of magnitude, if urine were treated on site instead of being discharged and treated in a centralized wastewater treatment plant.

Project description:The shedding of pathogens by infected humans enables the use of sewage monitoring to conduct wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE). Although most WBE studies use data from large sewage treatment plants, timely data from smaller catchments are needed for targeted public health action. Traditional sampling methods, like autosamplers or grab sampling, are not conducive to quick ad hoc deployments and high-resolution monitoring at these smaller scales. This study develops and validates a cheap and easily deployable passive sampler unit, made from readily available consumables, with relevance to the COVID-19 pandemic but with broader use for WBE. We provide the first evidence that passive samplers can be used to detect SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater from populations with low prevalence of active COVID-19 infections (0.034 to 0.34 per 10,000), demonstrating their ability for early detection of infections at three different scales (lot, suburb, and city). A side by side evaluation of passive samplers (n = 245) and traditionally collected wastewater samples (n = 183) verified that the passive samplers were sensitive at detecting SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater. On all 33 days where we directly compared traditional and passive sampling techniques, at least one passive sampler was positive when the average SARS-CoV-2 concentration in the wastewater equaled or exceeded the quantification limit of 1.8 gene copies per mL (n = 7). Moreover, on 13 occasions where wastewater SARS-CoV-2 concentrations were less than 1.8 gene copies per mL, one or more passive samplers were positive. Finally, there was a statistically significant (p < 0.001) positive relationship between the concentrations of SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater and the levels found on the passive samplers, indicating that with further evaluation, these devices could yield semi-quantitative results in the future. Passive samplers have the potential for wide use in WBE with attractive feasibility attributes of cost, ease of deployment at small-scale locations, and continuous sampling of the wastewater. Further research will focus on the optimization of laboratory methods including elution and extraction and continued parallel deployment and evaluations in a variety of settings to inform optimal use in wastewater surveillance.

Dataset Information

Adsorption of SARS-CoV-2 onto granular activated carbon (GAC) in wastewater: Implications for improvements in passive sampling.

Publications

Adsorption of SARS-CoV-2 onto granular activated carbon (GAC) in wastewater: Implications for improvements in passive sampling.

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