Source: NORTH DAKOTA STATE UNIV submitted to
BIOAVAILABILITY OF WASTEWATER-DERIVED DISSOLVED ORGANIC NITROGEN TO ALGAL SPECIES
Sponsoring Institution
National Institute of Food and Agriculture
Project Status
COMPLETE
Funding Source
HATCH
Reporting Frequency
Annual
Accession No.
1004403
Grant No.
(N/A)
Cumulative Award Amt.
(N/A)
Proposal No.
(N/A)
Multistate No.
(N/A)
Project Start Date
Oct 1, 2014
Project End Date
Sep 30, 2019
Grant Year
(N/A)
Program Code
[(N/A)]- (N/A)
Recipient Organization
NORTH DAKOTA STATE UNIV
1310 BOLLEY DR
FARGO,ND 58105-5750
Performing Department
Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering
Non Technical Summary
The study presented here is to assess dissolved organic nitrogen (DON) and its biodegradability (ABDON) in various locations in a wastewater treatment plants. Furthermore, DON and ABDON is determined in animal wastewater samples that collected from the animal nutrition and physiology center, which is a research center at NDSU. A comprehensive algae study, which utilizes four freshwater species of algae and their interactions with bacteria will be conducted to evaluate ABDON. Algae + bacteria inoculum will be investigated to determine how a symbiotic relationship between algae and bacteria increases DON bioavailability. Based on this perception, there is a need to conduct experiments to test different types of algae and mixed culture of those algae to determine ABDON. Furthermore, there is no known study comparing different types of algae on the bioavailability of DON.
Animal Health Component
30%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
50%
Applied
30%
Developmental
20%
Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)Subject of Investigation (SOI)Field of Science (FOS)Percent
1120210202050%
1020399205025%
1110210202025%
Knowledge Area
102 - Soil, Plant, Water, Nutrient Relationships; 112 - Watershed Protection and Management; 111 - Conservation and Efficient Use of Water;

Subject Of Investigation
0210 - Water resources; 0399 - Watersheds and river basins, general;

Field Of Science
2020 - Engineering; 2050 - Hydrology;
Goals / Objectives
The main scope of this study is to collect dissolved organic nitrogen (DON) and bioavailable DON (ABDON) data from various locations in two different wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) and various locations from the animal nutrition and physiology center at NDSU in order to achieve the following objectives:1. To investigate the DON and ABDON effects on the growth and proliferation of four algal species in both two-stage trickling filter and an activated sludge WWTPs, and in the animal nutrition and physiology center.2. To examine mixed culture algae and algae + bacteria interactions for species to determine the best algal species for ABDON determination.
Project Methods
Sources of samples: Domestic wastewater samples will be obtained from two wastewater treatment plants at the City of Fargo WWTP (Fargo, ND), and the City of Moorhead WWTP (Moorhead, MN), and animal wastewater (cow wastewater) will be collected from animal nutrition and physiology center, which is an animal research center at NDSU, Fargo, ND. The Fargo WWTP has a peak pumping capacity of 29 million gallon per day (MGD) and an average flow of 11-15 MGD. The Fargo plant mainly treats the wastewater for BOD and ammonia through the two-stage trickling filter process. The Moorhead WWTP has a peak pumping capacity of 11 MGD and an average flow of 4-6 MGD. The Moorhead plant treats the wastewater for BOD and ammonia through high purity oxygen activated sludge (HPO-AS) and moving bed biofilm reactor (MBBR). The treated effluents from both plants are either discharged to the Red River or pumped to stabilization ponds when flood conditions exist. Both plants have to comply with the discharge limits for biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) and ammonia (based on the receiving river flow rate) but are not subject to any TN or total phosphorus limits. Both plants are not regulated for fecal coliform in the winter months (November to March) and therefore do not chlorinate and de-chlorinate during that period.Sample collections and preparationGrab samples will be collected from three different locations on a weekly basis for six weeks at the Fargo and Moorhead WWTPs. Total 6 samples will be collected from each location. Mark Blonigen (Fargo WWTP) and Andy Bradshaw (Moorhead WWTP) will help to determine sampling points from each location in both Fargo and Moorhead WWTPs. Once sampling points are determined, samples will be collected without any assistance from the facilities during the business hours and week days.Fargo WWTP samples will be collected from: After primary clarifiers, after intermediate clarifiers, and after final clarifier. Moorhead WWTP samples will be collected from: After primary clarifiers, after intermediate clarifiers, and after MBBR.Animal wastewater will be collected on a weekly basis for six weeks at the animal nutrition and physiology center at NDSU in Fargo. Terry Skunberg (facility manager) will help for sample collection.Cultivation of algaeThe four selected algae strains Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, Chlorella vulgaris, Botryococcus braunii, Haematococcus pluvialis, and Neochloris oleoabundans will be obtained from University of Texas, Austin. The strains are grown in Bristol Medium containing: NaNO3, CaCl2·2H2O, MgSO4·7H2O, K2HPO4, KH2PO4, NaCl. Algae are inoculated in 500 ml clear glass bottles with continuous aeration using diffusers with 12 hr light/dark cycle at 20?. Media, glassware, and all the tools used in these experiments are autoclaved before using.Analytical methods The salicylate methods (Hach method # 10023 and #10031) were used for ammonia nitrogen measurement. Method # 10023 was used for values ranging between 0.02 and 2.50 mg/L while method # 10031 was applied for values ranging between 0.04 and 50 mg/L. The Test 'N Tube AmverTM test kits and a Hach DR5000 spectrophotometer at 655 nm were used. The diazotization method (Hach method # 10019) was used for low range nitrite nitrogen measurement (between 0.003 and 0.5 mg/L as NO2?-N). The Test 'N Tube NitriVer®3 test kits and a Hach DR 5000 spectrophotometer at 507 nm were used. The ferrous sulfate method (Hach method #8153) was used for high range nitrite measurement (between 2.0 and 75 mg/L as NO2?-N). The NitriVer®2 Nitrite Reagent powder pillows and Hach DR 5000 spectrophotometer at 373 nm were used. Dissolved nitrate was measured by a second derivative UV spectrophotometric (SDUS) method (APHA et al., 2005). The method was used for nitrate values ranging between 0 and 3.0 mg/L as N. Samples with higher nitrate concentrations were diluted to the measureable range. A Varian Cary 50 UV-V spectrophotometer was used with a quartz cuvette.TDN was measured by the SDUS method (APHA et al., 2005) after modified persulfate digestion (Sattayatewa and Pagilla, 2008). The method was used for TDN values ranging between 0 and 3.0 mg/L as N. Samples with higher total nitrogen concentrations were diluted to the measureable range. During the digestion, all nitrogen species (dissolved inorganic and organic) in the sample are converted to nitrate.Experimental procedureDuring the experiment, all the parameters will be determined in duplicate or triplicate and average values will be reported. All the glassware will be washed with soap, rinsed with tap water, kept in a 3% v/v hydrochloric acid bath overnight and rinsed with double distilled water (DDW) and then autoclaved before use. Samples with high nitrate, ammonium, and total nitrogen concentrations will be diluted to the measurable range.At the beginning of the study, two to three algae will be selected based on a screening test after algal cultivation. The main purpose of the screening test is to select higher growth rate algae with shorter culture time. In the next step, all the test samples will be prepared in duplicate including blank with deionized water. Samples will be collected from 3 locations from both Fargo and Moorhead WWTPs. Samples from animal feedlots will be collected from two different locations. As bacteria seed, the raw wastewater (for Fargo WWTP samples) or mixed liquor suspended solids also known as MLSS (for Moorhead WWTP and animal wastewater) will be used. The incubation period for ABDON will be 21 days (Figure 1).DON and ABDON determination procedures Dissolved ammonia N (DNH3-N), dissolved nitrite N (DNO2-N), dissolved nitrate N (DNO3-N), and TDN will be analyzed. Results will be used for calculating DON before incubation (DONi). The ABDON procedures rely on the change of DON in the sample before (DONi) and after (DONf) a 21-day incubation period. ABDON samples will be seeded using either pure cultured algae or algae + bacterial inoculum. Raw wastewater will be used as a bacterial inoculum. Cultivation and maintenance of algae will be performed according to the instruction provided by the culture manufacturer (UTEX, 2011). Inoculum controls will be prepared for each bioassay by adding the inoculum to DDW and treating it the same way as the sample (DONbi and DONbf;Equation 1 and 2). The details of the BDON and ABDON procedures were presented in Simsek et al. (2012 and 2013).DON = TDN - DNH3-N - DNO2-N - DNO3-N (1)ABDON = [(DONi - DONf) - (DONbi - DONbf)] (2)After determining ABDON for each pure cultured alga as explained in section 1, mixed cultured algae effect on ABDON will be determined by mixing various combinations of those algae. Simultaneously, another set of samples containing various combinations of algae will be prepared. Bacteria will be added to those samples to determine algae-bacteria interaction on determining ABDON. As a seed, 3 ml of pure algae and 2 ml of bacterial inoculum will be added into the samples. The wastewater sample size for each experiment will be 150 ml in a 250 ml clear glass bottle. The caps on the bottles will be open for several minutes at least twice a day to prevent anaerobic conditions in the bottles.

Progress 10/01/14 to 09/30/19

Outputs
Target Audience:This research provides important outcomes to improve the quality of surface waters in ND by minimizing the nutrient entrance to the water body from WWTPs and animal feedlots. The results from this study might be used to design a small scale on-site wastewater treatment plant to treat wastewaters. Therefore, farmers, regulatory agencies, wastewater treatment plant operators and engineers can get benefit from this research. Changes/Problems:No Changes. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?With this project, gradaute and undergraduate students learned wastewater sample collection techniques and measuring the wastewater parameters include chemical oxygen demand, biochemical oxygen demand, dissolved organic carbon, ammnia, nitrite, nitrate, total nitrogen and dissolved organic niotrogen. The graduate students were encouraged to prepare conference abstracts and manuscripts. Five proposals were funded by the ND Water Resources Research Institute. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The results from this project were presented in regional, national, and international conferences. Two reports were submitted to North Dakota Water Resourges Research Institude since some funding was prvided to graduate students to condust this project. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Nothing Reported

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? The results in this study showed that, dissolved organic nitrogen (DON) from animal wastes can contribute to pollution of surface waters. This study determined DON and bioavailable DON (ABDON) levels in animal wastewater collected from two different sources: an animal feedlot wastewater storage tank and a sheep wastewater storage lagoon. Inocula for the ABDON bioassays were comprised of individual species and several combinations involving two algae (Chlamydomonas reinhardtii and Chlorella vulgaris) and a mixed liquor suspended solids (MLSS) bacterial culture. The ratio of initial DON to initial total dissolved nitrogen was found as 18% in the feedlot wastewater samples and 70% in the lagoonwastewater samples. The results showed that between 1.6 and 4.5 mg-NL- 1 DON (45e79% of initial DON) in the feedlot samples and between 3.4 and 7.5 mg-NL-1 DON (36%e79% of initial DON) in the lagoon samples were bioavailable with the inocula tested. These results suggest that when considering eutrophication potential of livestock wastewater, organic nitrogen should be included in addition to the obvious culprits, ammonia and nitrate.

Publications

  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2015 Citation: Simsek, H., Cemek, B., Odabas M.S., Rahman, S. (2015). Estimation of nutrient concentrations in runoff from beef cattle feedlot using adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference systems. Neural Network World, 5(15): 501518.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2016 Citation: Simsek, H. (2016). Mathematical modeling of wastewater derived biodegradable dissolved organic nitrogen. Environmental Technology, 37(22):287989.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2016 Citation: Hammed, A.M., Prajapati, S.K., Simsek, S., Simsek, H. (2016). Growth regime and environmental remediation of microalgae: a review. Algae, 31(3): 189204.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2017 Citation: Sun, J., Simsek, H. (2017). Bioavailability of wastewater derived dissolved organic nitrogen to green microalgae S. capricornutum, C. reinhardtii, and C. vulgaris with/without bacteria addition. Journal of Environmental Science, 57:346355.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2017 Citation: Sun, J., Khan, E., Simsek, S., Ohm, J.B., Simsek, H. (2017). Dissolved organic nitrogen and its bioavailability in animal feedlot and storage lagoon wastewaters. Chemosphere, 186:695701.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Sharma, S., Simsek, H. (2018). Mixed cultured algal and bacterial remediation of dissolved organic nitrogen under short solid retention time condition. Desalination and Water Treatment, 103: 240247.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Sharma, S., Simsek, H. (2019). Treatment of canola-oil refinery effluent using electrochemical methods: A comparison between combined electrocoagulation + electrooxidation and electrochemical peroxidation methods. Chemosphere, 221:630639.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2015 Citation: Sun, J., Ohm, J., Blonigen, M., Simsek, H. (2015). Evaluation of bioavailable dissolved organic nitrogen in municipal wastewater using algae Chlamydomonas reinhardtii and Chlorella vulgaris. Proceeding at 86th Annual Water Environment Federation Technical Exposition and Conference (WEFTEC), Sep. 26-30, Chicago, IL.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2015 Citation: Simsek, H., Murthy, S., Ohm, J-B., Murthy, S., Khan, E. (2015). Solids retention time as a control parameter for organic nitrogen. Proceeding at 86th Annual Water Environment Federation Technical Exposition and Conference (WEFTEC), Sep. 26-30, Chicago, IL.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2015 Citation: Sun, J., Ohm, J., Blonigen, M., Simsek, H. (2015). Evaluation of bioavailable dissolved organic nitrogen in municipal wastewater using algae Chlamydomonas Reinhardtii and Chlorella vulgaris. Presented at 86th Annual Water Environment Federation Technical Exposition and Conference (WEFTEC), Sep. 26-30, 2015, Chicago, IL.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2015 Citation: Sun, J., Khan, E., Ohm, J., Simsek, H. (2015). Biodegradable and bioavailable dissolved organic nitrogen in animal wastewater. Presented at American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE) International Meeting, July 26-29, 2015, New Orleans, LA.


Progress 10/01/17 to 09/30/18

Outputs
Target Audience:The results obtained in this study can be used in agricultural and environmental fields as reference values. Particular target audinces are farmers, state regulatory agencies, water and weastewater treatment plant operators, watershed managers, university extension personnel, students, staff, and faculty in academia to better understand algal and bacterial interaction on biological degradation of organic and inorganic matters in livestock, domestic wastewaters and irrigation water sources. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Two graduate students learned about environmental contamination caused by organic and inorganic substances originated from agricultural or environmental sources. One graduate student learned how to use a modeling software, "Artificial Neural Network", during this study. Three of my students had a chance to prepare manuscripts and conference presentations in these topics. Nutrient contamination originated from agricultural and environmental sources are crucial in North Dakota. Therefore, our study was partially supported by ND Water Resource Research Institude as student fellowships since our results will be helpful for regulatory agencies to determine the removal performance of those nutrients using algae and bacteria. Additionally, ND State Health Department personel was very supportive to see our result related to cyanobacteria modeling since harmful algal blooks are their priorities in North Dakota. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?We prepared conference presentations and manuscripts to disseminate our results. We met with ND Water Resource Research Institude personel at NDSU and discussed our progresses and results in the topic. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?I will continue to design different experiments to observe organic and inorganic removal from agricultural, industrial, and doestica wastewaters. I will work on canola and sunflower oil refinery wastewaters to remove organics and inorganics using various techniques. Additionally, I will work on sugarbeet process wastewaters to remove organics and inorganics. Additinal wastewater samples will be collected from animal feedlot lagoons to investigate biological treatment performance using algae and bacteria.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? We have colected year round samples to complete the experimental studies. We have determined the best suitable algal species and their mutual relationship with bacteria to degrade organic and inorganic nitrogen in the livestock and domestic wastewaters. We had conference presentaitons and a journal articles in this part of the study. Additionally, freshwater algal study were conducted to investigate the occurrence and acucmulation of cyanobacteria in freshwater ecosystms. Mathematical modeling were used to predict future algal contamination in the freshwater ecosystems. We had one conference presentation (international conference) in this study and currently we have one manuscript submitted to a presticies journal in the field.

Publications

  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Sharma, S., Simsek, H., (2018). Mixed cultured algal and bacterial remediation of dissolved organic nitrogen under short solid retention time condition. Desalin. Water Treat., 103: 240⿿247.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Under Review Year Published: 2018 Citation: Guzel, H.O., Cemek, B., Steele, D.D., Christensen, V.G., Simsek, H., (2018). Prediction of freshwater harmful algal blooms in western Lake Erie using artificial neural network modeling techniques. Environ. Monit. Assess. (Under Review).
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Guzel, H.O., Cemek, B., Steele, D.D., Simsek, H., (2018). Prediction of freshwater harmful algal blooms in Western Lake Erie using artificial neural network modeling techniques. Presented at ICSAE 2018 5th International Conference on Sustainable Agriculture and Environment, Oct. 8-10, Hammamet, Tunisia.


Progress 10/01/16 to 09/30/17

Outputs
Target Audience: Nothing Reported Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?One master student has graduated, and one master student and a PhD student will graduate in Spring semester 2018. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The results obtained from this projects were presented in local, national, and international conferences including: -WEFTEC - Water Environment Federation Technical Exhibition and Conference -ASABE - American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers -EPSCOR - Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research -NDWRRI - North Dakota Water Resources Research Institute - Other regional and international conferences. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?All the results that obtained from the laboratiory experiments will be organised and prepared for publications. As a next step, DON in vegetable industry wastewaters (sunflower oil and corn oil industry wastewatersa and sugarbeet industry wastewaters) will be studied.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? In this study, algal and bacterial interactions on the removal of organic nitrogen in either domestic wastewaters or in livestock wastewaters have been investigated. In the second phase of the study, chemostat reactors were used with bacteria only or bacteria + algae inoculum. Overal resutls showed that, more than 50% of inert dissolved organic nitrogen (DON) was actually degraded using bacteria and/or algae + bacteria inocula. Non-treated DON at the effluent of wastewater treatment plant was considered as non-biodegradable. However, we proved that a porion of DON could be biodegradable in the surface waters once the optimum environmental conditions were met.

Publications

  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2017 Citation: Sun, J., Khan, E., Simsek, S., Ohm, J.B., Simsek, H., (2017). Dissolved organic nitrogen and its bioavailability in animal feedlot and storage lagoon wastewaters. Chemosphere 186:695701.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Accepted Year Published: 2017 Citation: Sharma, S., Simsek, H., (2017). Mixed cultured algal and bacterial remediation of dissolved organic nitrogen under short solid retention time condition. Desalin. Water Treat.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2017 Citation: Sun, J., Simsek, H., (2017). Bioavailability of wastewater derived dissolved organic nitrogen to green microalgae S. capricornutum, C. reinhardtii, and C. vulgaris with/without bacteria addition. J. Environ. Sci. 57:346355.


Progress 10/01/15 to 09/30/16

Outputs
Target Audience:The target audiences for my project are scientists and students in agricultural and environmental engineering area. Additionally, my experimental results could be beneficial for the North Dakota Department of Health community to mitigate surface water pollution in North Dakota. Changes/Problems:Originally, using four different algal species were planned in this study. However, because of the workload in the laboratory, one of the algae species was cancelled and experiments were conducted using three different algal species. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?One Masters and one PhD student worked on this project in 2016. Students learned how to collect and process wastewater samples from animal feedlot lagoons and domestic wastewater treatment plant. They learned how to measure some common parameters, such as chemical oxygen demand, total suspended solids, nitrate, nitrite, total nitrogen, and organic carbon in wastewaters. They learned how to use the necessary equipment to measure the parameters. Students were trained about preparing technical conference presentation and writing technical papers. Conference presentations were presented in national and local conferences and one proceeding paper and several journal articles were published in this research in 2016. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The results from this projects has been disseminated through local or national conference presentations, a proceeding paper and several journal article publications. Surface water contamination is a big problem in North Dakota. Nutrient enrichment causes excess algal growth in lakes, reservoirs, rivers, and streams. In some cases, those excess nutrients promote harmful algal blooms (cyanobacteria), which is poisonous for animals and humans. Especially, protecting drinking water reservoirs from algae or cyanobacteria is crucial for human health. Therefore, the results obtained in this research could be beneficial for use by the North Dakota Environmental Health Department. Wastewaters originated from animal feedlots are important since those wastewaters are very concentrated compared to domestic wastewaters. Hence, animal wastewaters should be treated or managed very well to prevent surface and/or groundwater contamination. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Laboratory experiments will be continued in different design setups to find easy and economical treatment methods. Electrocoagulation, electrooxidation, and UV light irradiation methods will be applied to treate surface waters, domestic, and/or animal wastewaters. New methods will be discovered/applied to suppress harmful algal blooms in the surface waters in North Dakota. Additionally, vegetable oil wastewaters, which are another wastewater sources originated from agricultural products such as sunflower, canola, and corn will be tested to investigate if algae + bacteria can be used to treat this type of wastewaters.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? 1. To investigate the DON and ABDON effects on the growth and proliferation of four algal species in both two-stage trickling filter and an activated sludge WWTPs, and in the animal nutrition and physiology center. Dissolved organic nitrogen (DON) is not bioavailable (ABDON) to mixed culture bacteria in wastewater treatment systems. Therefore, the big portion of total dissolved nitrogen in wastewater treatment plant effluent is DON, which discharges to receiving waters such as lakes, rivers, streams and causes excess growth of algae. In some cases, those excess nutrients in surface waters promote harmful algal blooms (cyanobacteria), which are poisonous for animals and humans. Especially, protecting drinking water reservoirs from algae or cyanobacteria is crucial for human health. Therefore, the results obtained in this research could be beneficial for use by the North Dakota Environmental Health Department. 2. To examine mixed culture algae and algae + bacteria interactions for species to determine the best algal species for ABDON determination. Bioavailability of DON in two different animal wastewater sources, an animal feedlot and a sheep unit lagoon, were determined in this study. Three different algal species, S. capricornutum, C. reinhardtii, and C. vulgaris and bacteria were used to inoculate the samples. The trends in ABDON concentrations in both types of animal wastewater sources were similar in both types of animal wastewaters. ABDON exertion was slightly higher in R + bacteria inoculated samples compared to V + bacteria inoculated samples in both wastewaters. Overall bioassay results proved that the majority of DON in livestock wastewaters could become bioavailable when the optimum environmental conditions were met as only 20% of DON in livestock wastewaters was non-biodegradable to algae and algae + bacteria. Therefore, DON should receive more attention in livestock wastewater management along with the currently focused water quality parameters: chemical oxygen demand, ammonia, and nitrate. Future work on detecting extracellular and intracellular enzyme activities of algae and bacteria are recommended to understand the mechanisms and interactions of algae and bacteria for DON removal at a molecular level. From this study, it can be concluded that C. reinhardtii and C. vulgaris can be selected as a standard test species over S. capricornutum because of their ability to remove nitrogen species from wastewaters.

Publications

  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2016 Citation: Simsek, H., (2016). Mathematical Modeling of Wastewater Derived Biodegradable Dissolved Organic Nitrogen. Environ. Technol..37(22):287989.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2016 Citation: Hammed, A.M., Prajapati, S.K., Simsek, S., Simsek H., (2016). Growth regime and environmental remediation of microalgae: a review. Algae , 31(3): 189204.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Accepted Year Published: 2017 Citation: Sun, J., Simsek, H., (2017). Bioavailability of wastewater derived dissolved organic nitrogen to green microalgae Selenastrum capricornutum, Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, and Chlorella vulgaris with/without bacteria addition. J. Environ. Sci. (Accepted).
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2016 Citation: Sharma, S., Ademola M. H., Simsek, H. (2016). Performance of Moving Bed Biofilm Reactor in the removal of Wastewater derived Dissolved Organic Nitrogen. North Dakota Water Quality Monitoring Conference, March 2-4, Bismarck, ND.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Accepted Year Published: 2016 Citation: Sharma, S., Tucker, D.L., Simsek, H. (2006). Wastewater derived dissolved organic nitrogen removal using integrated system of biological reactors and UV light irradiation. Presented at 89th Annual Water Environment Federation Technical Exhibition &Conference (WEFTEC), Sep. 24-28, New Orleans, LA.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2016 Citation: Sharma, S., Tucker, D.L., Simsek, H., (2016). Wastewater derived dissolved organic nitrogen removal using integrated system of biological reactors and UV light irradiation. Proceeding at 89th Annual Water Environment Federation Technical Exhibition &Conference (WEFTEC), Sep. 24-28, New Orleans, LA.


Progress 10/01/14 to 09/30/15

Outputs
Target Audience:The possible target audiences in this project are water and wastewater regulatory agencies, city water and wastewater treatment plant authorities, and scientists conducting research on wastewater treatment. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The project provided learning experience for three graduate students. One MS graduate student graduated in the fall of 2015. Two MS students have been working on their research related to this project. The students were directly involved in learning necessary instrumentation to measure their samples. They received training about sample collection and preparation. All the students prepared poster and oral presentations related to the project. All the students received scholarships from North Dakota Resources Research Institute (NDWRRI) by writing proposals from this project. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?This study provides important outcomes to reduce effluent nitrate and organic nitrogen prior to discharge. In the future, regulatory agencies might force the Fargo municipal WWTP to reduce effluent total nitrogen under 10 mg/L. Using algae in a proper stage of the treatment plant helps to reduce effluent TDN with low cost. In the second part of the study, nutrient transportation through runoff from animal feedlots has been studied to prevent nutrient transportation to surface waters. Determining the best algal species to remove nitrate and DON from Fargo WWTP and from animal feedlots in ND will help to create a new removal method in the region. The results obtained from this projects were presented in national and international conferences including: -WEFTEC - Water Environment Federation Technical Exhibition and Conference -ASABE - American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers -EPSCOR - Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research -NDWRRI - North Dakota Water Resources Research Institute - Other regional and international conferences. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?The laboratory experiments will be continued using animal originated wastewaters. UV light affect on DON degradation will be added into the experiments. Continuous feed chemostat reactors will be added to the system to treat wastewaters.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Experimental results proved that, biological wastewater treatment methods using bacteria and/or algae are natural and cost effective ways to treat wastewaters. Establishing the best treatment methods for pure-cultured and/or mixed cultured algae and bacteria will help to ascertain the nutrient removal potential of algae and bacteria. In addition, the results from my research might be used to design an on-site wastewater treatment plant to treat wastewaters from feedlots and agricultural field. Removal of dissolved organic nitrogen (DON) in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) is challenging because of the complex structure of DON. Effluent DON is problematic in nutrient sensitive surface waters and needs to be reduced to meet demanding total dissolved nitrogen (TDN) discharge limits. Bioavailable dissolved organic nitrogen (ABDON) is a portion of DON that utilizes by algae or algae + bacteria while biodegradable DON (BDON) is a portion of DON that can be decomposable by bacteria only. ABDON and BDON along the treatment train in a two-stage trickling filter (TF) wastewater treatment plant was evaluated using three different microalgal species, which were Selenastrum capricornutum, Chlamydomonas reinhardtii and Chlorella vulgaris and mixed cultured bacteria. The results showed that about 30 to 80% of DON was bioavailable to either algae-only or algae + bacteria inoculum while more than 40% of DON was biodegradable in all the samples. Overall, the results showed that Chlamydomonas reinhardtii and Chlorella vulgaris can be used as a test species same as S. capricornutum since there were no significant difference among these three algae species based on organic and inorganic nitrogen removal.

Publications

  • Type: Other Status: Accepted Year Published: 2015 Citation: Report: Sun, J. and Simsek, H. (2015). Evaluation of bioavailable dissolved organic nitrogen using various algal species. United States Geological Survey through North Dakota Water Resources Research Institute, Technical Report (Accepted), December, 2015, Bismarck, ND.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2015 Citation: Sun, J., Ohm, J., Blonigen, M., Simsek, H. (2015). Evaluation of bioavailable dissolved organic nitrogen in municipal wastewater using algae chlamydomonas reinhardtii and chlorella vulgaris. Proceeding at 86th Annual Water Environment Federation Technical Exposition and Conference (WEFTEC), Sep. 26-30, Chicago, IL.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2015 Citation: Sun, J., Ohm, J., Blonigen, M., Simsek, H. (2015). Evaluation of bioavailable dissolved organic nitrogen in municipal wastewater using algae Chlamydomonas Reinhardtii and Chlorella Vulgaris. Presented at 86th Annual Water Environment Federation Technical Exposition and Conference (WEFTEC), Sep. 26-30, Chicago, IL.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2015 Citation: Dandumrongsin, B., Simsek, H., Rongsayamanont, C. (2015). Characterization of soluble microbial products and its contribution on dissolved organic matters in municipal wastewater effluent. Presented at International Prairie Student Conference, August 13-14, Brookings, SD.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2015 Citation: Sharma, S., Ademola M. H., Simsek, H. (2015). Impact of solids retention time on wastewater derived bioavailable dissolved organic nitrogen. Presented at American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE) International Meeting, July 26-29, New Orleans, LA.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2015 Citation: Sun, J., Khan, E., Ohm, J., Simsek, H. (2015). Biodegradable and bioavailable dissolved organic nitrogen in animal wastewater. Presented at American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE) International Meeting, July 26-29, New Orleans, LA.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2015 Citation: Sun, J., Simsek, H. (2015). Nitrogen removal in treated municipal wastewater effluent using three different pure cultured microalgae (C. Reinhartti, C. Vulgaris, and S. Capricornutum) and mix cultured bacteria. Presented at North Central American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers Conference, April 10-11, Fargo, ND.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2014 Citation: Sun, J., Kasi, M., Khan, E., Simsek, H. (2014). Bioavailability of organic nitrogen in wastewater to two different pure culture algal species. Presented at American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE) intersectional Meeting. March 28-29, Brookings, SD.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2015 Citation: Dandumrongsin, B., Simsek, H. (2015). A method to determine biodegradability of organic nitrogen using laboratory scale column system. Presented at North Dakota Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (ND EPSCoR) State Conference. April 22, Fargo, ND.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2015 Citation: Sharma, S., Ademola, H., Simsek, H. (2015). Wastewater treatment using microalgae Chlamydomonas Reinhardtii and bacteria in a continuous flow stirred-tank reactor (CSTR). Presented at North Dakota Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (ND EPSCoR) State Conference. April 22, Fargo, ND.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2014 Citation: Sun, J., Kasi, M., Khan, E., Simsek, H. (2014). Nitrogen removal in municipal wastewater using pure cultured algae. Presented at 86th Annual North Dakota Water and Pollution Control Conference (NDWPCC), Oct. 14-16, Fargo, ND.
  • Type: Theses/Dissertations Status: Published Year Published: 2015 Citation: Sun, J. (2015) Bioavailability And Biodegradability Of Dissolved Organic Nitrogen Originated From Municipal And Animal Wastewater.