A new study from Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden seeks to understand how viral contamination affects the environment and a wastewater treatment facility.
Modern society depends on wastewater treatment facilities operating effectively.
Microscopic microorganisms frequently carry out the ‘job’ of wastewater treatment plants in the sewage sector.
These bacteria carry out biological processes that transform the wastewater into clean water that can be released into the environment.
In essence, the bacteria break down the impurities and clean the water, keeping the plant operating smoothly.
Activated sludge, a type of treatment that uses billions of bacteria, is used in large treatment plants.
The question we asked was whether the process can occasionally be more exposed and what happens then because the bacterial communities are constantly exposed to viruses that infect them, according to Oskar Modin, professor at Chalmers University.
In a study conducted in Sweden, Oskar Modin and colleagues examined the concentration of virus particles discharged from four different wastewater treatment facilities and compared it to the amount of organic carbon released at the same time.
Knowing the effects of a viral infection on a treatment plant begins with understanding the link between the virus and effluent quality.
“Sick” wastewater plants might affect the aquatic ecosystems
The results of the investigation have clearly demonstrated a correlation between virus concentration and the quantity of dissolved organic carbon in effluent water.
This is due to the fact that viruses could have a dual impact on the concentration: first, because they contain carbon and second because they can tear host bacterium cells, releasing carbon.
According to Oskar Modin, “We noticed a relationship between viruses and organic carbon – where there was more of one there was also more of the other” when measuring viral particles in the water.
When there is more dissolved organic carbon in the effluent water, microorganisms in the nearby bodies of water where the effluent is discharged absorb more oxygen.
The aquatic ecosystems nearby may suffer as a result of this.
As a result, strict rules are in place to ensure that wastewater treatment plants produce an effluent with low biodegradable organic carbon concentrations.
In some regions of the world, techniques used at wastewater treatment plants for disinfection and pharmaceutical removal can result in increased resource consumption, including money, energy and materials, from modest increases in organic carbon within the facility.
The effectiveness of these processes is impacted by organic carbon in the water.
No infection risk for humans
A host is necessary for the replication of viruses.
There will be a large number of viruses that can infect those active bacteria because biological wastewater treatment procedures have a high concentration of them that can act as hosts.
In the wastewater treatment plant, this causes a net increase in virus particles.
“Viruses frequently specialize in a certain species, making it impossible for humans and bacteria to contract the same virus.
Therefore, the viruses that are “produced” in a wastewater treatment plant only affect microbial communities and do not infect humans.
Changing how the treatment facility is run, is one potential method of reducing the number of viruses there could be.
According to Oskar Modin, “We observed discrepancies between the treatment plants in the study, which we think may be due to the design or management of the biological treatment processes.
Source: Chalmers University
