The joint activities such as seminars, lunch etc. of the Aarhus Institute of Advanced Studies provide good opportunities for AIAS fellows to discuss their research with others and get inspired. AIAS fellows Shubiao Wu and Dennis Konnerup have been collaborating on a review of engineered nanoparticles in wastewater treatment. Both fellows have a background in wastewater treatment, but with different angles. The meeting at AIAS has resulted in a fruitful collaboration, and an outcome of a review article entitled ‘Impact of engineered nanoparticles on microbial transformations of carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus in wastewater treatment processes – A review’ that has been published in the scientific journal Science of the Total Environment.

Wastewater treatment processes effected

Nanoparticles are defined as particles with at least one dimension between 1 and 100 nanometers in size. The production and use of engineered nanoparticles have grown rapidly over the last two decades, and they are incorporated in products such as dyes, health care products, cosmetics and food packing materials. This has raised concern about their potential release from these products and subsequent effects on wastewater treatment processes.

The questions of how these engineered nanoparticles interact with microbial transformations of carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus in different wastewater treatment systems are reviewed in the joint paper. Interestingly, it shows that low concentrations of engineered nanoparticles seem to stimulate several processes whereas higher concentrations can be inhibitory.

Read the full article here

‘Impact of engineered nanoparticles on microbial transformations of carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus in wastewater treatment processes – A review’ by Shubiao Wu, Haiming Wu, Mark Buttond, Dennis Konnerup, Hans Brix in: Science of The Total Environment, Vol 660, Pages 1144-1154.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048969719301238?dgcid=author

Contact

Shubiao Wu, Associate Professor, AIAS-COFUND Fellow
Email: wushubiao@aias.au.dk

Aarhus Institute of Advanced Studies (AIAS)
Høegh-Guldbergs Gade 6B 
DK-8000 Aarhus C
Denmark