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Reduction of selenite to elemental selenium nanoparticles by activated sludge

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Abstract

Total selenium removal by the activated sludge process, where selenite is reduced to colloidal elemental selenium nanoparticles (BioSeNPs) that remain entrapped in the activated sludge flocs, was studied. Total selenium removal efficiencies with glucose as electron donor (2.0 g chemical oxygen demand (COD) L−1) at neutral pH and 30 °C gave 2.9 and 6.8 times higher removal efficiencies as compared to the electron donors lactate and acetate, respectively. Total selenium removal efficiencies of 79 (±3) and 86 (±1) % were achieved in shake flasks and fed batch reactors, respectively, at dissolved oxygen (DO) concentrations above 4.0 mg L−1 and 30 °C when fed with 172 mg L−1 (1 mM) Na2SeO3 and 2.0 g L−1 COD of glucose. Continuously operated reactors operating at neutral pH, 30 °C and a DO >3 mg L−1 removed 33.98 and 36.65 mg of total selenium per gram of total suspended solids (TSS) at TSS concentrations of 1.3 and 3.0 g L−1, respectively. However, selenite toxicity to the activated sludge led to failure of a continuously operating activated sludge reactor at the applied loading rates. This suggests that a higher hydraulic retention time (HRT) or different reactor configurations need to be applied for selenium-removing activated sludge processes.

Scheme representing the possible mechanisms of selenite reduction at high and low DO levels in the activated sludge process

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Acknowledgments

The authors are thankful to Ferdi Battles, Lyzette Robbemont, Berend Lolkema (UNESCO-IHE, Delft) for the ICP-MS measurements, as well as Marina Seder-Colomina (Université Paris-Est, Marne la Vallée) and Julie Cosmidis (UPMC Univ Paris 06, Paris) for TEM-EDX measurements. This research was supported through the Erasmus Mundus Joint Doctorate Environmental Technologies for Contaminated Solids, Soils, and Sediments (ETeCoS3) (FPA no. 2010-0009) and the lifelong Learning Program (LLP) Erasmus Placement, both financed by the European Commission.

Authors’ contributions

The manuscript was written through contributions of all authors. All authors have given approval to the final version of the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. UNESCO-IHE, Institute for Water Education, Westvest 7, 2611AX, Delft, The Netherlands

    Rohan Jain, Silvio Matassa & Piet N. L. Lens

  2. Department of Biochemical Engineering and Biotechnology, Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, Hauz-Khas, New Delhi, 110016, India

    Satyendra Singh

  3. Laboratoire Géomatériaux et Environnement (EA 4508), Université Paris-Est, UPEM, 77454, Marne la Vallée, France

    Rohan Jain & Eric D. van Hullebusch

  4. Department of Civil and Mechanical Engineering, University of Cassino and Southern Lazio, Via Di Biasio 43, 03043, Cassino, FR, Italy

    Silvio Matassa & Giovanni Esposito

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  1. Rohan Jain
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  2. Silvio Matassa
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  3. Satyendra Singh
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  4. Eric D. van Hullebusch
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  6. Piet N. L. Lens
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Correspondence to Rohan Jain.

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Responsible editor: Bingcai Pan

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Jain, R., Matassa, S., Singh, S. et al. Reduction of selenite to elemental selenium nanoparticles by activated sludge. Environ Sci Pollut Res 23, 1193–1202 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-015-5138-7

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