Grantee Research Project Results
Final Report: Enabling Adaptive UV and Solar-Based Disinfection Systems to Reduce the Persistence of Viral Pathogens in Wastewater for Sustainable Reuse
EPA Grant Number: R835826Title: Enabling Adaptive UV and Solar-Based Disinfection Systems to Reduce the Persistence of Viral Pathogens in Wastewater for Sustainable Reuse
Investigators: Nguyen, Thanh (Helen) H. , Shisler, Joanna L , Guest, Jeremy S
Institution: University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
EPA Project Officer: Spatz, Kyle
Project Period: September 1, 2015 through August 31, 2018 (Extended to August 31, 2020)
Project Amount: $750,000
RFA: Human and Ecological Health Impacts Associated with Water Reuse and Conservation Practices (2014) RFA Text | Recipients Lists
Research Category: Water , Human Health
Objective:
Determine the molecular mechanisms responsible for virus inactivation; 2) Determine factors required for effective virus inactivation by natural sunlight and UVC; and 3) Develop pond and UVC design guidelines to achieve reliable virus inactivation and elucidate trade-offs across and within dimensions of sustainability.
Summary/Accomplishments (Outputs/Outcomes):
We found the following results:
1. Rotavirus inactivation under conditions of waste stabilization ponds by solar UVA and visible light irradiation depends on both the formation of reactive oxidant species (ROS) produced by wastewater organic matter and the stability of viral proteins.
2. Hydraulic retention time, pond depth and radical formation are important for virus inactivation by solar irradiation in waste stabilization ponds. Specifically, adding ponds in series and increasing HRT is more effective than reducing pond depth.
3. 220 nm irradiation is more effective than 254 nm irradiation, especially for double strand DNA and double strand RNA viruses, and viruses with single strand RNA with short genome. UV irradiation decreased the binding of TV to its host receptor and mutagenized the TV genome. UV irradiation at 220 nm appeared to allow RV–host receptor interaction but halted RV genome replication.
4. We developed a set of PCR-based molecular assays (long-range qPCR, DNase, and binding assay) to quantify the adenovirus genome, capsid, and fiber damage with a wide detection range. We used these molecular assays to characterize adenovirus (AdV) inactivation kinetics by microplasma UV that produced monochromatic UV at 222 nm. We found that the inactivation rate constant due to microplasma UV was 4.4 times higher than that of low-pressure Hg UV. This high efficacy was attributed to monochromatic UV wavelength at 222 nm damaging the AdV capsid protein. The results of these molecular assays also proved that microplasma UV and medium-pressure Hg UV with a bandpass filter at 223 nm (MPUV223nm) have a similar influence on Adenovirus.
5. Because the microplasma UV resulted in higher inactivation rate constants for viruses than the current Hg-based UV, microplasma UV could be more energy efficient than low-pressure Hg UV for water disinfection if the wall-plug efficiency of the microplasma UV lamp improved to 8.4% (currently 1.5%). Therefore, the microplasma UV lamp is a promising option for water disinfection.
6. After integrating models of solar irradiance, photochemistry, virus inactivation, and pond design, we demonstrated the relative importance of individual assumptions and local conditions on pond system performance for virus inactivation. Through this work we demonstrated the implications of design decisions (specifically, number of ponds in series, hydraulic retention time, and pond depth) on virus inactivation under uncertainty. The cost implications of these design decisions are directly related to the land area requirements (influenced by hydraulic retention time and pond depth), number of ponds, and total system volume (dictated by hydraulic retention time), all of which were evaluated in detail. Similarly, life cycle environmental impacts are impacted by construction activities, which are also driven by the same three design decisions (number of ponds in series, hydraulic retention time, and pond depth). Lastly, it the global sensitivity analysis demonstrated that final system performance was highly sensitive to locality specific factors (including NPOC concentration and irradiance profile), and natural variability at a site will also impact performance uncertainty. Altogether, given the direct dependencies of cost and life cycle environmental impact results on the three key design characteristics and the sensitivity of results to locality-specific assumptions, we focused on demonstrating these relationships and publishing an open source model to enable any researcher or engineer to simulate the performance of potential designs with locality-specific data (local irradiance, temperature profiles, wastewater composition, etc.). The model is housed with a set of open source sustainable design tools for sanitation and resource recovery, and can be found below.
Journal Articles on this Report : 9 Displayed | Download in RIS Format
Other project views: | All 27 publications | 11 publications in selected types | All 11 journal articles |
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Araud E, Shisler JL, Nguyen TH. Inactivation mechanisms of human and animal rotaviruses by solar UVA and visible light. Environmental Science & Technology 2018;52:5682-5690 |
R835826 (2018) R835826 (2019) R835826 (Final) |
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Araud E, Fuzawa M, Shisler JL, Li J, Nguyen TH. UV inactivation of rotavirus and Tulane virus targets different components of the virions. Applied and Environmental Microbiology 2020 Feb 3;86(4). |
R835826 (2019) R835826 (Final) |
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Feng Z, Lu R, Yuan B, Zhou Z, Wu Q, Nguyen TH. Influence of solution chemistry on the inactivation of particle-associated viruses by UV irradiation. Colloids and Surfaces B: Biointerfaces 2016;148:622–628. |
R835826 (2016) R835826 (2017) R835826 (2019) R835826 (Final) |
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Fuzawa M, Ku K-M, Palma-Salgado SP, Nagasaka K, Feng H, Juvik JA, Sano D, Shisler JL, Nguyen TH. Effect of leaf surface chemical properties on the efficacy of sanitizer for rotavirus inactivation. Applied and Environmental Microbiology 2016;82(20):6214-6222. |
R835826 (2016) R835826 (2017) R835826 (2019) R835826 (Final) |
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Li G, Rabitz H, Yelvington PE, Oluwole OO, Bacon F, Kolb CE, Schoendorf J. Global sensitivity analysis for systems with independent and/or correlated inputs. Journal of Physical Chemistry A 2010;114(19):6022-6032. |
R835826 (Final) R832721 (2008) R832721 (Final) |
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Romero-Maraccini OC, Shisler JL, Nguyen TH. Solar and temperature treatments affect the ability of human rotavirus wa to bind to host cells and synthesize viral RNA. Applied and Environmental Microbiology 2015;81(12):4090-4097. |
R835826 (2016) R835826 (2019) R835826 (Final) |
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Wang Y, Araud E, Shisler JL, Nguyen TH, Yuan B. Influence of algal organic matter on MS2 bacteriophage inactivation by ultraviolet irradiation at 220 nm and 254 nm. Chemosphere 2019;214:195-202 |
R835826 (2018) R835826 (2019) R835826 (Final) |
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Lu R, Zhang C, Piatkovsky M, Ulbricht M, Herzberg M, Nguyen TH. Improvement of virus removal using ultrafiltration membranes modified with grafted zwitterionic polymer hydrogels. Water Research 2017;116:86-94. |
R835826 (2019) R835826 (Final) |
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Oh C, Sun PP, Araud E, Nguyen TH. Mechanism and efficacy of virus inactivation by a microplasma UV lamp generating monochromatic UV irradiation at 222 nm. Water Research 2020;186:116386. |
R835826 (Final) |
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Supplemental Keywords:
drinking water, pathogen.Relevant Websites:
https://github.com/QSDGroup/WSP_solar_inactivation
Progress and Final Reports:
Original AbstractThe perspectives, information and conclusions conveyed in research project abstracts, progress reports, final reports, journal abstracts and journal publications convey the viewpoints of the principal investigator and may not represent the views and policies of ORD and EPA. Conclusions drawn by the principal investigators have not been reviewed by the Agency.
Project Research Results
- 2019 Progress Report
- 2018 Progress Report
- 2017 Progress Report
- 2016 Progress Report
- Original Abstract
11 journal articles for this project