Ricerc@Sapienza

Extensive and improper utilization of water from industrial, municipal, and agricultural activities generate 380 trillion L/y of wastewater worldwide. Wastewaters from different sources contain enormous amounts of nutrients such as carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus. Thus, the recovery of these nutrients via appropriate sustainable process becomes a necessity. Among various processes microalgae-based technologies has attracted considerable attention and its strategies for sustainable and low-cost treatment of wastewater has allowed removal of over 70% nutrient loads from the wastewater.

The adoption of new environmentally-friendly technologies is becoming a key issue in both public debate and policy arenas. The paper focuses on innovation adoption by wastewater utilities, and investigates why stringent environmental regulations are not sufficient to foster it. The adoption of advanced wastewater treatment technologies is made complex by the sunk nature of highly specific infrastructures, and the consequent exposure of utilities to political and institutional influences.

Wastewater carries different pathogenic and non-pathogenic microorganisms that can be dispersed in the surrounding environment. Workers who frequent sewage treatment plants can therefore be exposed to aerosols that contain a high concentration of potentially dangerous biological agents, or they can come into direct contact with contaminated material. This can lead to allergies, infections and occupational health-associated diseases. A characterization of biological risk assessment of bioaerosol exposure is necessary.

The sustained expansion of agricultural industry in Colombian high-mountain has led to an increased size of residues, especially untreated wastewater. This untreated water is an urgent matter for public and environmental health, not only by its nutrient concentration (composed especially of food residuals and feces) but also the presence of pathogens (virus, bacteria, etc.) which are discharged to the environment.

Colombian intensive fish production is concentrated mainly in the departments of the Andean Region, Amazon, and Orinoquía. These systems were characterized for being exploited mainly by family farming nuclei, which are dedicated exclusively to breeding and others with mixed systems. Currently, the sustainable development of this economic line depends on two factors: global warming and the consumption of resources (energy, fresh water, and protein).

The aceton-butyl-ethanolic fermentation process (ABE) is a biotechnological process that leads to the production of acetone, n-butanol and ethanol (ABE compounds) from glucose sources and amides by use of certain biomasses. The process was developed initially during the middle of the last century and suffers from decline due to the greater petrochemical production of products and the lowering of the costs of the sector. Nowadays, the ABE process is regaining great interest because the fraction with the highest concentration, i.e. n-butanol, is an excellent constituent for biofuels.

Among the emerging issues in the field of wastewater treatments, reducing energy
consumption and removal of new organic pollutants have become of primary concern.
With respect to the first goal, alternating oxic/anoxic conditions in the bioreactor
has demonstrated to be a feasible way to ensure the required efficiency of carbon
and nitrogen removal along with energy saving. The aim of the present study was
to investigate if these alternating oxic/anoxic conditions are also capable of boosting

The present study shows the results of an experimental survey conducted over 34 months on 76 full-scale Wastewater Treatment Plants located in central Italy with the aim to determine the influent and effluent concentrations of 13 Organic Micropollutants belonging to the class of illicit drugs, pharmaceuticals and steroids. The survey focused on a large set of plants differing for the main characteristics (e.g. treatment capacity, type of lay-out).