Suchergebnisse

The planet is experiencing all manner of environmental crises, and crises that have their origins in the environment, including global warming, pollution of the air, soil, marine systems and freshwater, loss of habitats and species extinctions, transmission of deadly animal infections to humans, the spread of antimicrobial resistance, to name just a few. Planetary boundaries are being successively breached. Devising and implementing optimal solution and mitigation strategies urgently requires the best possible scientific brains to be harnessed and focused on environmental crises. It is imperative to establish authoritative leadership and the intellectual and organisational framework for this: a European Environmental Research Organisation, modelled on the European Molecular Biology Organisation (EMBO) and Laboratory (EMBL), whose mission is to carry out pioneering research on environmental crisis‐relevant topics, communicate its findings and recommendations to governments, their agencies, the general public, business and other stakeholders, and create outstanding research leaders to populate the best institutions worldwide – a global network of top scientists working together to understand the causes and nature of crises and to devise effective solutions.

The core responsibility of governments is the security of their citizens, and this means inter alia protecting their safety, nutrition and health. Microbiology and microbial biotechnology have key roles to play in improving supply security of essential resources. In this paper, we discuss the urgent need to fully and immediately exploit existing microbial biotechnologies to maximize supply security of energy, food and medical supplies, and of waste management, and to invest in new research specifically targetting supply security of essential resources.

The present paper focuses on a largely unexplored field of landfill-site valorization in combination with the construction and operation of a centralized olive mill wastewater (OMW) treatment facility. The latter consists of a wastewater storage lagoon, a compact anaerobic digester operated all year round and a landfill-based final disposal system. Key elements for process design, such as wastewater pretreatment, application method and rate, and the potential effects on leachate quantity and quality, are discussed based on a comprehensive literature review. Furthermore, a case-study for eight (8) olive mill enterprises generating 8700 m(3) of wastewater per year, was conceptually designed in order to calculate the capital and operational costs of the facility (transportation, storage, treatment, final disposal). The proposed facility was found to be economically self-sufficient, as long as the transportation costs of the OMW were maintained at <= 4.0 (sic)/m(3). Despite that EU Landfill Directive prohibits wastewater disposal to landfills, controlled application, based on appropriately designed pre-treatment system and specific loading rates, may provide improved landfill stabilization and a sustainable (environmentally and economically) solution for effluents generated by numerous small- and medium-size olive mill enterprises dispersed in the Mediterranean region. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Oxygen‐limited autotrophic nitrification/denitrification (OLAND) is a one‐stage combination of partial nitritation and anammox, which can have a challenging process start‐up. In this study, start‐up strategies were tested for sequencing batch reactors (SBR), varying hydraulic parameters, i.e. volumetric exchange ratio (VER) and feeding regime, and salinity. Two sequential tests with two parallel SBR were performed, and stable removal rates > 0.4 g N l−1 day−1 with minimal nitrite and nitrate accumulation were considered a successful start‐up. SBR A and B were operated at 50% VER with 3 g NaCl l−1 in the influent, and the influent was fed over 8% and 82% of the cycle time respectively. SBR B started up in 24 days, but SBR A achieved no start‐up in 39 days. SBR C and D were fed over 65% of the cycle time at 25% VER, and salt was added only to the influent of SBR D (5 g NaCl l−1). Start‐up of both SBR C and D was successful in 9 and 32 days respectively. Reactor D developed a higher proportion of small aggregates (0.10–0.25 mm), with a high nitritation to anammox rate ratio, likely the cause of the observed nitrite accumulation. The latter was overcome by temporarily including an anoxic period at the end of the reaction phase. All systems achieved granulation and similar biomass‐specific nitrogen removal rates (141–220 mg N g−1 VSS day−1). FISH revealed a close juxtapositioning of aerobic and anoxic ammonium‐oxidizing bacteria (AerAOB and AnAOB), also in small aggregates. DGGE showed that AerAOB communities had a lower evenness than Planctomycetes communities. A higher richness of the latter seemed to be correlated with better reactor performance. Overall, the fast start‐up of SBR B, C and D suggests that stable hydraulic conditions are beneficial for OLAND while increased salinity at the tested levels is not needed for good reactor performance ; S.E.V. was supported as a postdoctoral fellow from the Research Foundation Flanders (FWO‐Vlaanderen), S.B. was supported by a scholarship from the Flemish Government ...

AbstractHydrogen sulphide emission in sewers is associated with toxicity, corrosion and odour and also yields considerable costs. The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether the soluble sulphide concentration in raw sewage can be controlled by dosing an iron‐rich waste‐activated sludge (WAS) or an iron‐rich aerated waste‐activated sludge (AWAS). An average soluble sulphide elimination of 99% was achieved at an iron‐rich AWAS to sewage ratio (v/v) of 16%, whereas dosage of iron‐poor AWAS at the same ratio decreased the soluble sulphide in the raw sewage by only 53%. Our lab‐scale tests suggest that dosing iron‐rich AWAS to sewage did not affect the chemical oxygen demand (COD) and total ammonia nitrogen (TAN) removal as well as the nitrification efficiency in the receiving activated sludge system. The results indicate that iron‐rich AWAS dosage is a feasible technique to remediate the sulphide problem in sewers.

16 p.-1 fig. ; Microbes and their activities have pervasive, remarkably profound and generally positive effects on the functioning, and thus health and well‐being, of human beings, the whole of the biological world, and indeed the entire surface of the planet and its atmosphere. Collectively, and to a significant extent in partnership with the sun, microbes are the life support system of the biosphere. This necessitates their due consideration in decisions that are taken by individuals and families in everyday life, as well as by individuals and responsible bodies at all levels and stages of community, national and planetary health assessment, planning, and the formulation of pertinent policies. However, unlike other subjects having a pervasive impact upon humankind, such as financial affairs, health, and transportation, of which there is a widespread understanding, knowledge of relevant microbial activities, how they impact our lives, and how they may be harnessed for the benefit of humankind – microbiology literacy – is lacking in the general population, and in the subsets thereof that constitute the decision makers. Choices involving microbial activity implications are often opaque, and the information available is sometimes biased and usually incomplete, and hence creates considerable uncertainty. As a consequence, even evidence‐based 'best' decisions, not infrequently lead to unpredicted, unintended, and sometimes undesired outcomes. We therefore contend that microbiology literacy in society is indispensable for informed personal decisions, as well as for policy development in government and business, and for knowledgeable input of societal stakeholders in such policymaking. An understanding of key microbial activities is as essential for transitioning from childhood to adulthood as some subjects currently taught at school, and must therefore be acquired during general education. Microbiology literacy needs to become part of the world citizen job description. To facilitate the attainment of microbiology literacy in society, through its incorporation into education curricula, we propose here a basic teaching concept and format that are adaptable to all ages, from pre‐school to high school, and places key microbial activities in the contexts of how they affect our everyday lives, of relevant Grand Challenges facing humanity and planet Earth, and of sustainability and Sustainable Development Goals. We exhort microbiologists, microbiological learned societies and microbiology‐literate professionals, to participate in and contribute to this initiative by helping to evolve the basic concept, developing and seeking funding to develop child‐friendly, appealing teaching tools and materials, enhancing its impact and, most importantly, convincing educators, policy makers, business leaders and relevant governmental and non‐governmental agencies to support and promote this initiative. Microbiology literacy in society must become reality. ; Peer reviewed

Microbes and their activities have pervasive, remarkably profound and generally positive effects on the functioning, and thus health and well-being, of human beings, the whole of the biological world, and indeed the entire surface of the planet and its atmosphere. Collectively, and to a significant extent in partnership with the sun, microbes are the life support system of the biosphere. This necessitates their due consideration in decisions that are taken by individuals and families in everyday life, as well as by individuals and responsible bodies at all levels and stages of community, national and planetary health assessment, planning, and the formulation of pertinent policies. However, unlike other subjects having a pervasive impact upon humankind, such as financial affairs, health, and transportation, of which there is a widespread understanding, knowledge of relevant microbial activities, how they impact our lives, and how they may be harnessed for the benefit of humankind - microbiology literacy - is lacking in the general population, and in the subsets thereof that constitute the decision makers. Choices involving microbial activity implications are often opaque, and the information available is sometimes biased and usually incomplete, and hence creates considerable uncertainty. As a consequence, even evidence-based 'best' decisions, not infrequently lead to unpredicted, unintended, and sometimes undesired outcomes. We therefore contend that microbiology literacy in society is indispensable for informed personal decisions, as well as for policy development in government and business, and for knowledgeable input of societal stakeholders in such policymaking. An understanding of key microbial activities is as essential for transitioning from childhood to adulthood as some subjects currently taught at school, and must therefore be acquired during general education. Microbiology literacy needs to become part of the world citizen job description. To facilitate the attainment of microbiology literacy in ...